Over the last several months, many of you have poured out your heart and shared your struggles with us on this website. Various life issues have been expressed, but one common theme has bubbled up: you feel you are not close to God. You feel that He is not listening or doesn’t care. The gap between where you know you should be – with God – and where you presently stand is entirely too large.
We want you to know that we hear you.
I want you to know that I feel you – I totally get it. I am living it right now.
Blah. That is the only word to describe my faith right now. I would rather not open my Bible for my daily time with God and just “check the box.” I really don’t want to read verses that seem dry and not applicable to me at this moment. And, I seriously don’t want to pray when the distance between Jesus and me seems to grow wider every time I try to talk to Him. Blah. It’s the only word…
I really do know better than to believe that this is the full potential of my relationship with God right now, in this season. Past experience with Jesus tells me that it doesn’t have to be this way and He never intended my faith to be, well, Blah. So, I think I have come up with a game plan to lessen the gap and spice up my faith. If you are experiencing a Blah kind of faith right now, give it a try. Know that you are not alone and that most of us go through highs and lows in our relationship with the Lord.
Plain and simple: I am going to just show up.
I will just show up with my Bible, a pen and some paper to pour out my heart and express this feeling of distance. I know He will meet me there, listen and allow me to draw nearer.
I will just show up at church and sing the songs. Though someone else wrote the lyrics, those words will speak to God what I can not come up with from my own heart. I know He will meet me there and receive my worship.
I will just show up on my knees and pray; listing all the things I am grateful for and refine my perspective on life. I know He will meet me there and remind me of blessings long forgotten.
I will just show up to serve and do something for someone else less fortunate. I know He will meet me there and set a spark in my heart to rekindle the flame of faith.
You might be wondering how I could be so certain that God will meet me when I just show up. One Bible verse popped in my mind that I have based this game plan on.
“I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” – Revelation 22:13
God never changes. My world has turned upside down and right side up too many times to count, but my God always stands firm. No matter how flaky or blah my faith might be, He never gives up on me. No matter how much I ignore His presence, Jesus is always there. His power, love and strength are not dependent on my feelings at any given moment. Jesus will meet us when we just simply show up.
Resources…
Faithbook of Jesus: Connecting With Jesus Daily by Renee Johnson
Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl by Lisa Terkeurst
Something Else…
Take this quiz to see if you are ready to {just show up}.
Sarah wrote these words and then went through with her game plan. Her faith is no longer blah. Sarah will be around all week to encourage you to just show up, so leave a comment. You also can read more from her at www.liveitoutblog.com
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks so much for this message. I needed this today. I know we all get into moments where our faith is Blah, but I know the Lord is there to pick us up and dust us off so we can start over again. A lot of times my faith is like Blah because of sin in my life. I find if I am doing something I am not supposed to be doing my relationship with the Lord tends to dwindle. SO I have to confess that sin and start over again. I am so thankful to the Lord for forgiveness of sin. Without that none of us could go from Blah to Beautiful!!!!
Doris,
I love it: Blah to Beautiful! Great words from you! Your words spoke to me regarding sin. LOVE IT!
Thanks for sharing.
love,
sarah
That’s the word for me- Blah.
Thanks for the inspirations in this blah-ish time.
You are right showing up is the first step in letting him draw nearer to us.
I hope to do that this week consistently.
Have a great week and thanks for your post!
Missy-
Such a good point-show up consistently. Couldn’t have said it better myself! Thanks for your thoughts.
love,
sarah
The words of Job 23:8-12 describe your message. I just wrote about this passage on my blog at cherilb.blogspot.com. The name of my blog is Threadbare … Hope for women who feel like they are hanging on my a thread. This passage really encouraged me.Perhaps it will minister to someone else.
Blessings,
Cheri
Sarah, this is exactly what I’m going through right now! Thank you so much for the post! It is very comforting to me to know that I am not alone in this struggle. Your game plan of showing up is a great one and I will be putting it into practice in my life from now on. Thank you so much! I will be praying for you!
Lydia,
I am so glad that my struggle encouraged you. You are not alone that is absolutely for sure. I went through this Blah time about two months ago-there are so many different reasons for this “wilderness” time as Fran put it in her comment. I think the fact that I recognized what was going on and knew what was behind my Blah-ness was the biggest step toward moving out of it. To be honest, it was hormones for me. I always get in a funk during the summertime-so weird. You might have a totally different reason, but we all go through this some time or other. Thanks for sharing!
love,
sarah
Hey sweet lady…
Let me tell ya….I spent almost a solid year in a wilderness with Him and I thought I was going to smack someone. It was miserable and awful. I know how this feels. I completely get it too. Praying over you today. I so appreciate you!
Fran! Oh wow. A whole year?! That would make anyone miserable. Thanks for your support friend!
love,
sarah
Super cool message and so true! Thank you for letting God speak through you …. I am so glad His word is true. And it’s with that that I am assured God will never stand you up!!!!
Hallelujah holler back!!
Mpumi,
Ahhh! Thanks for that encouragement. I love what you wrote…about God not “standing me up.” I didn’t even think of that phraseology-so creative. Can I quote you on that?
Halleluja Holla new friend!
love,
sarah
Sarah, (my beautiful daughters name as well)
Thank you for your encouragement. I’ve been going thru that “Blah” period for the last year. I lost my brother 3 years ago, my mom 2 years ago and I also lost my job a month after my mom passed away and still haven’t found the right job. When I was going through all of that, my faith was very strong and the Lord helped me get through it….but since then, I don’t feel as strong in my faith. I feel BLAH. I know part of it is depression and to be honest I forget sometimes to “show up” or to cry out to him. I’m still trying to do things myself. Thank you for reminding me that the Lord is always waiting for me…I just have to show up.
Many Blessings….
Rae-Lynn
Rae-Lynn,
I am so very sorry for your loss over the past several years. That has got to be so rough! I admire your strength and I am praying that the Lord blesses you for just showing up!
love,
sarah
Wow, sheseeks.org always speaks to my heart. I love it. My life feels topsy turvy right now. I’m in a rut. And feel it mostly mentally while I try to get back on track to life as I know it. But in that time, I always feel distanced from God because among the stress last week, I was not showing up. This post really reminded me of how I used to journal all the time. I haven’t journaled since last winter. I think it is time for me to pick up a paper and pen, and just meet with God with the spilling of my heart. Thank you for the encouragement.
Danielle,
As you can see from my post and the other comments, you are definitely not alone in the Blah faith! We all have different ways to connect with God and I’m glad that journaling is one way for you to do just that. I know God will bless you for being willing to just show up!
Thanks for sharing!
love,
sarah
Hey Sarah! How are you? Thank you so much for posting this blog, I loved it! Well, I really don’t know if my faith it’s blah right now, but I can truly say that when I’m seeking God, lately, I feel like: “Man, I’m never going to grow spiritually.” This happens to me often because I happen to admired many many people that have an awesome relationship with God, and well, they’ve been walking with the Lord for many years, but sometimes I get sooo impacient and it drives me nuts, but anyway, I really hold on to this verse that I learned a couple of months ago: “Be joyful in hope, be patient in affliction, be faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 So I guess I just have to stay in faith, pray and believe that He listens to all my prayers, know that His heart embraces all the whispers that come from my own heart and I have to understand that prayer is prayer and I shouldn’t take it for granted, He does listens. Bye Sarah! Rock on!
<3
Mel!
I love the Romans 12:12 verse. You all are helping me continue the thought process on my own topic this week which is so very cool. Thanks for sharing-truly!
rock on to you girlfriend!
love,
sarah
Wow…you’re words were SOOO encouraging to se today!! I’ve been in the “blah” state on and off for a few years now, and I just can’t seem to break through to the SERIOUS passion with and for God that i SOO WANT. I always felt like just showing up because i knew that was the right thing to do would be seen as a heartless pathetic act bu God, but reading this today i realized that mabey that why I havn’t broken through yet…i had totally the wrong perspective!! For the next however long it takes me, i’m going to just show up with God and see where it takes me
Alison,
I think when our heart is in the right place and God sees that we aren’t just showing up to check the box and move on in our day, that is when we have the break through with Him. Keep in mind the verses that say “Seek first the Kingdom” and “Seek me and find me” that express our role in the relationship. He promises in Jeremiah 29:13 that He will be found when we seek Him with our whole heart. I think that your original thought process was definitely valid! I mean, when you look in the Old Testament at examples of the Isrealites offering up insincere sacrifices just to appear “holy,” that is what angered God. But people like David who are not perfect yet seek to please God for the sake of true worship are the ones who just show up and actually break through their blah faith. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. This got me thinking more on my own topic! Totally cool! Gonna have to write more about it!
love,
sarah