Episode #347 What to Do When You Feel Spiritually Bored – How to Bring Your Feelings to God

Hey, friend. Have you seen the Emoji Movie? It's been out for some years now. I'm not saying go watch it, but I was thinking about it in preparation for today's episode 'cause the main concept of this movie is that there's an emoji named meh. And this emoji is not very meh actually. He has all these other feelings and things when he's supposed to constantly only be bored.

It's a fun movie. I've watched it with my kids. But the thing that has me thinking about it is some days just feel boring, they can feel spiritually flat. They can feel like just existing. And the good news is that even on those days, we can draw near to God and have wonderfully rich and vibrant experiences with him. Even on those spiritually flat days, God is present and active and at work. Sometimes drawing near to him isn't going to produce a big emotional high or a big energy spike for us, but I have found that on the days when I feel spiritually lacking, spiritually disinterested, it's usually related to some area of forgetfulness. And I share that with you, not in judgment, not in condemnation, but in encouragement. Because if you feel that way, if your walk feels stagnant or if your day feels disinteresting, you can connect with God in a fresh way today through some remembering.

And so I'm gonna read for us Isaiah 57:15 and I'll read it in the NLT:

“The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,

    the Holy One, says this:

“I live in the high and holy place

    with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.

I restore the crushed spirit of the humble

    and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts."

The High and lofty one who lives in eternity also makes his home with us. He brings, restoration to those who are humble and repentant. God, who is entirely beyond our understanding, who is holy and perfect and mighty and majestic. God, who is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Creator of the universe also lives within us. We are also the temple of the Most High.

Even in tough moments where energy is waning. Where you can feel bored or blah, or stuck and stagnant, God says, I restore crushed spirits. I revive courage. Come to me, stay humble before me.

And so my encouragement for you today is to bring to him the meh that you feel. Talk with him about it. Ask him questions about it. Ask him where it's coming from.

In this verse, it talks about being humble and repentant. I'm not saying there's things you need to repent for, but if there are, it's simple: think differently, consider again, choose a different course. Don't let this place of stagnation keep you stuck. God who is high and exalted, who lives in the high and holy places, also lives with you. Ask him for help. Ask him to show you how he's there.

And here's another question that you can also ask him.

God, what do you long to restore and revive in me?

When I asked him this question, it felt like he reminded me of the dependency that I can have in him. He wanted to restore and revive in me that reliance on him. Not in what I can do on my own, or what I can accomplish, or all the things that are feeling my to-do list, because that can sap my energy and strength. He wants to remind me that my trust is in him. That he's here with me and he'll guide me in this path too. He wants to remind me that he is my restoration, that he can renew what I need.

I wonder what he wants to restore in you? Well, the way you'll find out is by asking him. So here's that question one more time:

God, what do you long to restore and revive in me?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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