What To Do When Spiritual Atrophy Sets In

My Utmost For His Highest

…in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses. —2 Corinthians 6:4

{CHAMBERS} “When you have no vision from God, no enthusiasm left in your life, and no one watching and encouraging you, it requires the grace of Almighty God to take the next step in your devotion to Him, in the reading and studying of His Word, in your family life, or in your duty to Him. It takes much more of the grace of God, and a much greater awareness of drawing upon Him, to take that next step, than it does to preach the gospel. Every Christian must experience the essence of the incarnation by bringing the next step down into flesh-and-blood reality and by working it out with his hands. We lose interest and give up when we have no vision, no encouragement, and no improvement, but only experience our everyday life with its trivial tasks.”

{ELGIN}  Beware of spiritual atrophy.  For the last few years, I have been watching my physical health degrade. It is almost like what I was watching was not me, but someone else.  There was a feeling of helplessness. I was going in a direction I did not want to go in.  I knew the consequence but had lost the will to persevere.  Then, one day, that changed.  The fog cleared, and I saw what I needed to do. I needed to instill discipline in my life, but I could not do it on my own.  I needed someone to come along side me.  That is how it is with our spiritual life.  If we are not careful we will fall into a spiritual malaise.  We know that we are not where we should be spiritually but feel helpless to do anything about it.  And we are too embarrassed or proud to tell people about our struggle.  At a men’s conference in 1993, Dr. Howard Hendricks said that we need three people in our lives.  A Paul to build into our lives, a Barnabus to hold us spiritually accountable, and a Timothy into whose life we are building.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

It’s time for action.  You know what is needful, and it begins with the first step.