After feeling very unmotivated for a few days, I decided to indulge and spent some time looking at inspirational quotes on Pinterest. There were lots encouraging me (“You can do it” and “How to improve your motivation”). But one caught my eye that had me laughing hysterically: “Temporary Closed for Spiritual Maintenance”.
I thought this little gem was great. I imagined little men, or perhaps internal Oompa Loompa’s, doing maintenance work around my heart with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There were little road signs up directing my blood cells to when they could travel through my arteries. It was great.
However, after a few moments, the quote struck a chord and I began to think about its implications. And I realised, it was more applicable to my life than I first thought.
Fluctuating Faith
I don’t know about you but I have to admit to having fluctuating faith. This simply means that sometimes I feel really faithful and I’m the brightest Christian out there, shining God’s light for all to see…and other days I feel lower than Judas must have when he realised what he’d done to Jesus.
Having faith can be hard. And if you’re like me, you beat yourself up on the days you don’t have that awe-inspiring faith. You feel like you’ve failed Jesus because you wonder why he’s not answering your prayers. You question how a good God could let some of the things happen that we see in the world today.
Having fluctuating faith isn’t necessarily a bad thing. To grow, you must challenge where you are at the moment. And sometimes challenging your beliefs means you take a few steps backward before leaping forth. It’s part of the human condition to question whether such a God can exist. He gave us the choice to believe or not. When I’m fluctuating in my faith, I know that I’m about to grow from where I was.
Maintenance
One of the other things that needs to happen when you grow is maintenance. Maintenance is simply a process of ensuring something is in good condition instead of letting it fall into disrepair. By conducting maintenance, you can pick up the small cracks as they happen and fix them, instead of having to fix a gigantic fissure that diminishes the beauty of the item.
We are constantly undergoing maintenance. God is always checking for our little cracks so that we don’t crumble after being left alone for too long. It’s not a bad thing. God knows we need constant love and support to continue growing and following Him. It’s not easy to be a disciple of Jesus. And Satan will always look to force open a crack and turn it into a fissure if he can.
Temporary Closed for Spiritual Maintenance
I think it’s important to allow yourself to close for spiritual maintenance. But what does this look like? Actually, the bible tells us. It is the period of time where we fast, pray and lean on God to survive. It is when we read his word and meditate on it. It is when we pray with our family.
Temporary closure doesn’t have to be for a long time. God is not fully renovating you. He might only be renovating the ‘kitchen’ as opposed to the whole house. Take 2 hours out of your day to meditate on his word…this is your temporary closure.
Today’s world can be hard to accept. Every piece of bad news creates a small crack in our heart. Every bad word we hear against someone else, or ourselves, creates a crack. Every disappointment creates a crack. If we don’t tune into God and allow him to do his maintenance, all these cracks will turn into one big fissure…and that takes a lot more effort to fix.
Stop, slow down and allow God time to perform his spiritual maintenance.
Emma is a full time admin worker with a passion for Christ and an interest in reading, writing and music.
Emma Seabrook’s previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/emma-seabrook.html