What to Do When You Hit a Spiritual Slump
Are you stuck in a spiritual slump? Read these words from my recent post at Women Wielding the Word.
How to Get Out of a Spiritual Slump
I remember reading the words on a sun-splattered spring dawn, and I could not honestly say I related. The words went like this: “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalm 84:2 NIV).
I want both my heart and my flesh to literally yearn – to hunger – for God, but there are plenty of mornings when I open my Bible with waning enthusiasm. A wise mentor once compared daily Bible reading to a daily bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Most days, nothing unexpected happens when you eat the meal; nonetheless, it continues to nourish and sustain you day after day.
While I agree with this comparison, there are seasons when I’m desperate to fuel the fire for personal Bible study. I’ve found several key ingredients to fan the flame:
1. Get out of a spiritual slump by spending time with passionate people.
Have you ever noticed that if the people in your house are intent on snacking all evening long, it’s far more difficult to practice self-control than it is to join them on a chip-munching binge?
In the same way, spending time with people who are hungry to draw nearer to God ignites the same passion in me. There are a handful of friends in my life who talk about their Bible reading as if they’ve just had a very direct and personal conversation with God. They speak of obscure Old Testament passages as if they have directly heard the voice of God thundering from heaven.
These friends inspire me to open my Bible with an expectation to encounter God in the reading every day. Hunger for God is contagious.
2. Live outside your comfort zone.
The correlation between my zeal for Bible study and my passion for living out the gospel in my everyday life cannot be denied. In seasons when I’m deliberately following God out of my comfort zone, I always find myself more attentive to his voice in my everyday moments and more desperate for his truth as I open his written Word.
This doesn’t mean I have to plan an overseas missions trip every two months. It simply means I regularly ask God where I can follow him in sharing the gospel – whether by word or by deed – and I step out of the safety of my comfortable space to follow him.
. . . to keep reading, join me here at Women Wielding the Word.
Calling all moms and daughters—and parents of boys!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 14, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or grandparents to read with the children they care about.
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength is for boys ages 5-13. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to courageously carry God’s love into the world. Written with input from our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven, this book will help the boys you care about find courage and strength in God. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Devotionals for Girls
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
All three books are available in print and eBook form here on Amazon. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
Learn Why Willpower Doesn’t Work and Experience God’s Deliverance and Healing
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
