Fall is a wonderful season, but it can be an unbearably busy one. School, sports, music lessons, and all sorts of activities pick up from their summer break. In the busyness of this season, I want to encourage you to invest in your spiritual health.
Spiritual health is not just having happy feelings about God. In fact, a person can be spiritually healthy while having doubts or confusion about God’s role in their life. The key is to be ordered toward God, even in the struggle. I would argue that building habits that point you toward God is paramount in the Christian life.
Let’s take three habits for an example:
Going to Mass every Sunday
Praying every day
Reading Scripture daily
You may see someone who does the things above actively and still struggles with their faith, or doesn’t seem to have the joy of the Lord. I would say, however, that they are doing exactly what they need to do in order to be transformed. Even if they are merely “going through the motions,” they have set out to build habits that order their heart and mind toward God. They have effectively prepared for the spiritually dry seasons of life by ensuring they follow God’s commands even when they don’t feel like it.
Mark my words: God will show up for them. He will see their effort and be pleased that they have chosen to get out of their own way.
Do you ever feel like you’re in your own way on the path toward holiness? I certainly do sometimes. This is why building habits of holiness is so important; so that when you “just don’t feel like praying,” you do it anyway. Jesus said to Peter “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). He means your emotions (and will power) can play tricks on you. That is not to say that emotions are evil; they were created by God and serve a wonderful purpose. But when our emotions (or lack thereof) block our ability to do what God commands, then we must make our bodies do what is holy before our brains can even catch up.
Be careful not to look at someone who is “just going through the motions” and assume they don’t love God as much as you do. By making God the first thought of your day, by reading His Word, this person is putting God ahead of everything. When we do that, God always multiplies our efforts and will transform our hearts. Sometimes transformation is instant, sometimes it takes years. The key is to keep up your relationship with God in the midst of the busy seasons of life.