By Rick Liggin
Life seems to be full of ups and downs! At times, when things are going well, we enjoy an emotional “high”— life is sweet and good. But at other times, things just don’t seem to go our way, and we experience an emotional “low”—life is difficult and depressing. Unfortunately, some of us experience these “hi-lo’s” in our spiritual lives as well. At times, we have no trouble keeping our minds on things above, and we feel really close to God—we’re on a spiritual “high.” But at other times, we feel all alone and alienated from God—we’ve fallen into a spiritual “low.” What causes us to have these spiritual “lows”? Why can’t we just stay on a spiritual “high”?
We need to realize that we are the ones responsible for these spiritual “lows.” Like the old saying: “If God seems far away, guess who’s moved!” We have only ourselves to blame! The difficult and trying circumstances of life may be what tempt us to loose heart and plunge into a state of spiritual depression, but we are the ones who ultimately choose to allow these circumstances to get us down. We are the ones who have built the barriers between ourselves and God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Remember: you may walk out on God, but He will never walk out on you (cf. Hebrews 13:5). But if these spiritual “lows” are the result of our own failings, how do we avoid them and maintain a spiritual “high”?
There are usually three areas in which we fail that cause us to experience spiritual “lows”: 1) We fail to let God speak to us on a daily basis through His Word. When we fail to read and study the Bible, we stop being led by the Spirit and are therefore overcome (Galatians 5:16-26). But by letting God speak to us, we can be admonished and encouraged to maintain a spiritual “high.” 2) We fail to speak to God by going to Him in prayer. More often than not, while on a spiritual “low,” our praying habits become almost non-existent. We forget that, even though God knows our every need, He still wants us to talk to Him (Philippians 4:6). Praying is neglected and we miss out on the great strength that it can give. And 3) we fail to trust and rely on God. While on a spiritual “low,” we tend to try to “go it alone,” without God’s help and assistance. But we can’t possibly succeed without the help of God. Our faith and trust cannot be relinquished if we truly hope to maintain a spiritual “high.”
You are not alone! We all, at one time or another, experience the spiritual “lows.” But we can avoid them if we will overcome our own failures and draw closer to God. Don’t let yourself drift away! “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
Note from the Editor:
I can remember reading the preceding article as a teenager who was just getting ready to begin his junior year of High School. The original target audience was, coincidentally, “the young people”. In fact, dad had a series of articles that he wrote focused on topics and issues relevant to us in the younger crowd. He entitled the series: “Talking to Teenagers…For Our Young Folks.” Though that may have been his original audience, I find that as I have gotten older the issues that are addressed in this article are not unique to young people. Unfortunately, I still struggle with some of these very things. I hate conflict, and will sometimes go out of my way in an attempt to avoid it. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve also realized that avoiding conflict at all costs rarely (if ever) brings about peace. You may avoid a fight, argument, or heated discussion. But relationships remain awkward and uncomfortable, and you are left with inner worry and frustration. Hardly the peace that could be had on the other side of genuine, loving confrontation of sin.
This bulletin is being published for the purpose of encouraging a further study of the Word of God. Editor – Josh Liggin
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