Highs, Lows and Plateaus

We’ve all gone through highs, lows and plateaus in our spiritual lives. Sometimes all in the same week. The highs of a well lead Bible study or an amazing service of praise to God or knowing you have had influence in someone becoming a Christian. The lows of pain or illness or hurt or injustice or the death of a loved one. And plateaus of just standing still, not growing, Bible on a shelf or ignoring God.

We need to set behind us the successes and the failures of the past so that we don’t dwell on our own actions, but rather on what Christ has done for us. We have not yet arrived and we need to press on to become more like Christ. 

Paul says it so well in Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

I heard it somewhere and have said it before that we have three stages on our seeking God. Discipline, desire and delight. 

• My pastor Darrell said, “discipline is a momentum of habit“. It takes work. You need a plan. Life is SO busy that you can’t just happen into it. You need something that triggers a response in you. They say a habit takes 21 days to form. But you don’t want to! My friend Tim says, “it’s easier to act you way into a new way of feeling than feel your way into a new way of acting“. 
• Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. This second step is more than discipline. We want to learn and grow
• Desire comes less often for me. 

Wherever you are on that journey with Jesus, there’s room for growth! If the Apostle Paul had room for growth, so do we all. Keep growing in your faith in Jesus Christ!