Spiritual Dormancy

     "If you’re hot for Jesus, nothing can perch on you”

   
    Those words struck me as the Priest (struggling to remember his name) said them that day during the homily. He further went on to explain the need to have an active spiritual life, a burning spiritual life, so hot that the arrows of the evil ones cannot hit you. Just as a bird in the air cannot perch on a hot surface so also can the devil’s work not harm you if you have a fiery spiritual life.
 
     I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve had many periods in my life during which I was really just a dormant Christian. I mean, I can go on my knees daily, attend mass on Sundays, but that’s just it, nothing extra. During these periods, I usually stop reading my bible and devotional, stop visiting the Blessed Sacrament just to spend a moment with Jesus, stop attending weekday masses, stop praising and worshiping God as often as I should, stop investing my time in things that will generally enhance me spiritually. Why?? you may ask, I wonder at times, though I can pinpoint a number of possible reasons.
 
   The primary reason of course has to be LAZINESS. At times I just feel lazy. In those times, opening the bible to read seems like a hassle, going to the blessed sacrament just seems like a long journey, attending mass when it’s not Sunday seems like stress and the list goes on.
 
    At times, it’s because we humans generally tend to wait until something undesirable is happening before we remember to strengthen our union with God and pray fire for fire. Then we remember how to fast, quote scriptures, pray novenas, visit the Blessed Sacrament, attend weekday masses, etc.
 
    Other times, feeling like my prayers weren’t being answered made me shy away because then it’s like why bother? Why isn’t God answering this particular prayer for me? Is He trying to punish me? What is my offense? As I’ve grown however, I’ve come to realize that God ALWAYS gives an answer to every prayer. Sometimes the answer may be Yes, other times-Not yet, others times-No this will harm you, or No, I have something better for you or No, I want you to learn one or two things first before I answer you or just plain No. At times we don’t pause to think of if we’re ready for certain things, we just demand and demand without having the capacity to handle them. You just have to learn to trust God, even when you feel like He’s not answering you, pause, meditate, LISTEN. He always gives an answer.
   
    One other reason of course is sin. Yeah, you know when guilty conscience makes it hard for you to face God, like the way Adam and Eve cowered in shame in the Bible when God came after they ate the forbidden fruit. I feel like that at times but one beautiful thing I’ve learnt about God is that He’s very understanding and accommodating. God doesn’t expect perfection from us and when we fail Him at times due to how weak the human flesh is, He wants us to run to Him not away from Him. Don’t pre-judge yourself to be unworthy of God’s grace/blessings, don’t let the devil convince you as such. Run to Him and He’ll always welcome you with a warm embrace.
 
    Having highlighted those, some of the steps I take to “Renew my fire for Jesus” which you can also take as well are:
1.Get a daily devotional. Some of the Hard copies I’ve used are: Daily Strength, Our Daily Manner. In case Hard copies tire you out, you can also try various online apps and devotionals. They will help you kill two birds with one stone. On one hand, you’re getting a daily dose of the gospel in a simplified form and at the same time you’re forced to open your Bible to read so you can follow. Devotionals really do make a difference

2. I’m catholic so I love to visit the Blessed sacrament. It’s so serene and peaceful and has a way of making me feel refreshed. Just go and spend 5-10 minutes with God. You can pray, read your bible or just meditate.

3. Attend Mass/Service as often as possible. Try to attend even if it’s not Sunday. Hearing the word of God often will help keep you in check as a Christian.

4. Attending extra church revival programmes, crusades, etc also help.

5.This is one I myself am yet to try but involving yourself in a church society could help. It could be choir, ushering, lay reading, Legion of Mary and many more.
       
    It’s really important to have a strong relationship with God so as to have a fiery spiritual life. Don’t wait for things to go sour before turning to God. Don’t feel other people are holier than you or have a higher level of grace than you which makes it easier for them to be closer to God. These are lies of the devil sent to make you shy away from Christ. Nobody is too much of a sinner to come close to God. Remember the gospel of the two thieves (Luke 23:33-43), one of them at the last minute begged Jesus to remember him in His kingdom and Jesus said “This day thou shalt be with me in paradise”. Imagine if he shied away at that point because he felt like too much of a sinner to talk to Jesus.
    Getting closer to God for me is majorly a journey of baby steps. I wrote this for myself so I can fall back on it whenever I relapse. I decided to share as someone might find it useful. Have a lovely day !