Do You Ever Get The Spiritual Blahs?

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Pastor Ed Pruitt

Do You Ever Get The Spiritual Blahs?

Pastor Ed Pruitt

August 12, 2007

Romans 6:1-14 (NLT)

6 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?

2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?

Have you ever had the spiritual blahs?

If you have followed Christ for any amount of time you surely know what I am talking about.

That spiritual lethargy, spiritual emptiness when God seems a million miles away and life seems just so routine.

I know I have had them.

In fact about two weeks ago it hit me, hey I think I’m coming down with a case of the spiritual blahs.

I came to church and as your pastor it is not easy to admit this.

I figure why try to be something I’m not.

I came to church and sang the songs, and prayed the prayers and give my offering and on the outside everything may have seemed to be okay.

But the songs seemed empty to me, my prayers seemed to stop at the roof, my offering was more routine than joyful and the Bible seemed especially complicated and lifeless.

I couldn’t point to one great area of sin that consumed me or some horrible situation or circumstance that had me feeling this way.

It was just a good old fashion case of the spiritual blahs and I knew if I didn’t do something about it, it would only grow.

Yet I lacked the motivation or the clarity to do what I needed to do.

The Spiritual blahs can take many forms, weeks or months without time spent with God.

Prayer and worship that seem as I said lifeless.

No evidence of God, or what the Bible calls, fruit in your life.

Whether it would be the fruits of the spirit showing up in your character with things such as love joy peace patience kindness good gentleness faithfulness or self control – and no fruit as far as the impact you are having on others for the kingdom of God.

A general lack of passion and desire.

A lot of times doubts will creep in at this time – is all this real, God are you there, how do I know any of this is really true.

How often it seems that when we are most on fire for the Lord or serving him most effectively that we will also go through difficulties.

We seem to have spiritual attacks, trials and temptations.

At times like these wouldn’t it be easier to just cruise through life, not too high not to low, just cruising along under the spiritual radar and sneak into heaven without anybody asking too many questions?

It is a mark of the spiritual blahs to just be okay with the routine.

Okay without a passion and without any real connection to a living God who came to give life to the full.

It’s the kind of thinking that says if God is going to forgive my sins I might as well live any old way I please.

And as I was thinking about this I know that many of us may find ourselves in the middle of one of those tough times now, and if not now I’m sure sometime it will creep in.