I was thinking back to those first few months when I returned to Christ, like the prodigal son. It was a challenging time, but very exciting. I was blessed to have a job where I could listen to sermons on the computer all day and filled my brain with knowledge of Christ and insight to some passages of the Bible that were more difficult to me in the past.

Lately though, things don’t seem as… electric, for lack of a better term. Have you hit spots like that in your walk with Christ? Has that spot gone on for some time?

“Ahh… the Good ol’ Days”

Part of my (possibly our) problem is called recency error:

Failing to take into account the entire evaluation period and focusing on a recent performance episode, positively or negatively
www.indiana.edu

If I earnestly recall that time, all was not rosy and perfect. I had many struggles, not just with myself, but with others.

Tying our Faith to Physical Experiences

It is unfortunate that most people are looking for a spiritual experience in the form of a physical manefestation before they come to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. While physical sensations of the Lord’s presense occur in both corporate worship and quiet time, it is probably the exception and not the rule. It also usually happens AFTER we put our faith in Christ. Very few get the “Damascus Road Moment” like Paul.

God does not want our faith tied to a physical experience because we may mistake the enemy for God. The enemy can often confuse people who are seeking a spiritual experience, but not the will of God. The devil is not going to come to us with the notion that we should snort a bunch of blow, grab some firearms, and barricade ourselves in a local bank. Satan has a much easier time just getting us distracted - looking for “feelings” that God is there such as a flow of energy, or he would just get us pursuing fruitless activities, such as sitting cross-legged on a mountain top “ooohhhmmm”ing our way to spiritual enlightenment.

Another reason the Lord asks us to worhip in in spirit and truth rather than a physical regimen, is that when physical struggles (poor health, for example) interfere, our faith will depart.

We will be subject to the presence of sin so long as we are on this earth. If you are a new believer, just remember that God interacts with us in a physical world, but he is a spiritual being. He created the universe for us humans to have a place to hang out, but one day soon we will be with him in that spiritual realm.

Can we Walk or Must we be Carried

Despite what I just said, God seems to have mercy when we are new to following him and encourages our faith with a heightened sense of closeness to Him. God stays almost on top of new believers so long as they seek him. This principle is reflected in my daily study verses from yesterday:

9) As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

10) And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11) And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12) But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Matthew 9:9-12 (ESV)

That last verse explains why our spiritual journey does not sometimes seem as fresh. We are like a child that is getting too big for their parents to carry them around all the time. They have to go through the initial phase of getting used to having to walk themselves around. The child resists, crying out to the parent to pick them up. The parent will still hold the child at times, but they know it is best for the child to strengthen their legs and gain better balance that will serve them as an adult.

Besides, the parent is standing at the child’s side the whole time.

Categories: Living for Christ
Tags: