Create and Renew

I'm tired. I'm complacent and quite frankly, I've been down lately. I'm not sure I can pinpoint any one thing that caused this or if I can even name a collection of problems. Maybe if I can sum it up or at least generalize it, I would call it 'life'. Because life is full of distractions, disappointments, sadness, busyness, fatigue, disorder, sins and hormones. Yes I said hormones. All of this has got me in a spiritual slump. Mentally and spiritually I am drained. With what prayers I can mutter, I tell God of my problems.

He knows.

He listens.

How do I know this? He speaks back to me through His word. Social media pops up verses that are what I need to hear. The same verse that inspired this very blog appears as scroll through Facebok on my phone. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.“ Psalm 73:26. I can almost quote this from heart but yet I tend to forget it, until God reminds me when I need to hear it most.

He also tells us in His word, “The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. For the Lord hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people.”

Psalms‬ ‭69:32-33‬ ‭

When we go through this slump some may say suck it up butter cup, that's life, just deal with it.

But nobody ever seems to explain how to deal with 'it' exactly. I don't know about you, but I don't appreciate the demand without the explanation.

Life is really like a roller coaster, as they say. Ups and downs, twists and turns, sometimes I'm turned upside down, sometimes I feel a little nauseous, sometimes I'm excited and thrilled and sometimes I'm scared.

Here's what I've discovered in trying to manage this roller coaster of life.

Disclaimer: I don't have it all figured out, I don't even have a little bit of it figured out, I still go back to my foolish ways and bad habits, but there is one thing I know.

There is One who is constant and true and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. There is one place I know I can go that can help me keep my path straight and that's God's Word. I'm not sure why I slack off on by Bible study and experience that spiritual slump from time to time. Every time I do I feel lost and empty and then I go back to the Divine Words. It then feels like a light has come on in a dark room and I can see again. The word that is a light to my path and lamp to my feet illuminates my life once again. Then I feel as if that roller coaster finally comes to a halt and life slows down for a time. And this feels good.

David in the Old testament knew about this roller coaster of life before there was the ”Silver Bullet”. He knew what the problem was when he was down...Sin.

For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight.

Psalm 51:3-4

David's sin? Oh nothing big, just committing adultery and murdering his new lovers husband after he impregnated her.

I'm not trying to make light of his sin, I'm trying to let you know that your sins aren't any worse than David's.

His sin, his life choices had thrown him for a loop on his roller coaster.

It may not be just sin that gets you in a slump. It could be one or many of the things listed earlier, that we summed up in a neat, crazy, little nutshell called life. Whatever has you on the down side of life, remember to do what David did next. He cried out to God asking him to: ”Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

Before and after his plea to God for a clean and renewed heart, David asks God to also renew his joy in life. “Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.”. Psalms‬ ‭51:8-9, 14‬ ‭

David knew the only way to deal with his brokenness, this slump, his unhappiness, was to ask God to create and renew the spirit within him. You too can ask God to create and renew the spirit within you and He will gladly comply.