Slumps

The History Channel started a movie series of The Bible last week, and it had me very impressed. They’re doing it every Sunday night for five weeks. The accuracy that was in it was so much better than I expected it to be, mostly because it is the Bible and the Bible unfortunately tends to be overlooked in today’s culture.  I caught the second episode – the one about Moses – last week. It inspired me to actually dive into God’s word and read a little bit of Moses’ story. I’m not one to particularly enjoy the Old Testament, but when I read it I learn some really cool life lessons.

Moses was sent to Egypt by God to set the Israelites free from the slavery and hardships they were facing. He and his brother Aaron approached Pharaoh and asked him to let their people go. Pharaoh said no, and instead of just going on his merry way and keeping everyone’s lives the same, he made work even more difficult for the Israelites than it was already. Rather than giving them straw to make bricks, he forced the Israelites to go searching for their own straw and still match the same quota. This lead to much harsher punishments from the Egyptians, because the Israelites could not make their quota for each day without straw being supplied to them directly. It really just wasn’t possible.

The thing is, at this point the Israelites knew about Moses and knew what he said about God letting them go free. They expected freedom, but they just got harsher treatments. Their lives became a lot more difficult before God brought them to freedom. That got me thinking, how often does that happen in our lives?

It’s similar to the whole “It’s always darkest before the dawn” concept. It’s something that I hate to hear because it’s so cliché. The thing is, it’s true. I think God allowed the Israelites to experience those things because if they didn’t, they may not have had as great of an appreciation for what He ended up doing for them. When I think about times of doubt in my own life, and I feel like I can’t see God anywhere, I get in a really weird spot spiritually. I get a little depressed, lose some faith, lose connections with good Christian friends that I have, and my life just isn’t as enjoyable. I fall into a spiritual slump that is kind of difficult to get out of.

I think I appreciate those slumps just as much as I appreciate my life when my relationship with God is really good. Those slumps stink when I’m in them, but once I get out of them I see the way God worked his way through it with me. I look back and see that He really never did let me walk alone. Even when I blinded myself to His ways, I look back now and see it. It’s beautiful. It gets me to a better understanding of God than I would have had if I never went through it.

I know times get tough; I’ve experienced it myself. I know that when it looks like God isn’t there it really feels like He isn’t. Just never lose sight of what’s ahead. Always keep your eyes turned to the prize at the end of the race. Sometimes all the things the world has to offer distract us from living our lives the way we should. I know from my own experience that in the long run, those things are not worth it. Not even in the least. God never lets us go. Not even in our darkest days. You can’t say that about money, people, or material things.

A guys I know named Aaron came up with this, and I know it encourages me to think about it when I’m going through my own spiritual slump, I hope it does the same for you.

“In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night, I cannot escape His sight. He who loves me with all His might, He casts out all fear, Jesus Christ, the Light.”