Spiritual Atrophy
“If you don’t use it, you lose it!”
We’ve all heard that phrase before. It usually revolves around different skills like being able to play a sport well or speaking a different language fluently. As an immersion teacher, I can usually tell when one of my students speaks Spanish outside the classroom because when they communicate, it’s typically effortless. When they get stuck recalling a word, they are still able to convey their message using different words even if it means speaking at a slower pace.
The same is true about spiritual disciplines. In the busyness of life we can forget or intentionally forego putting in the work behind studying scripture or praying. You might be too tired to go to a community group or simply feel like you don’t quite belong in any of the ones your church has. Or maybe the sound of you singing along to a worship song outside church walls sounds more like nails on a chalkboard. The bottom line is that we can always find a reason to neglect God and what He has called us to do. Things that others can seem to do so effortlessly can be strenuous for us.
For my local church, participating in outreaches and sharing the gospel with people in our neighborhood seemed like a thing of the past. I’m not sure whether we had grown comfortable in our previous location, lacked the drive, or simply weren’t interested.
We were apathetic. Until COVID-19 happened and we were forced to temporarily relocate to another town.
With the move and need to spread the word that we were new to the area, we started reaching out to the community. We purchased a few cases of water bottles and labels with our Sunday service information and began engaging people in the community. It wasn't much but it was a start.
We are still trying to figure out logistics of engaging this new community every week. We aren’t in a routine yet and usually end up brainstorming and hashing out plan after plan. But we’re sticking with our decision to keep engaging.
It’s taken boldness to pray for someone at a nearby park, discomfort in striking up a conversation with a stranger, and determination to be outside in the middle of the day during a hot summer. To put it plainly, it’s been a challenge.
As the body of Christ, it’s our joy to partake in spiritual disciplines like evangelism and to train ourselves in godliness.
“Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly”- 1 Timothy 4:7b (NIV)
However daunting this might be, I’m always encouraged by James 4:8, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” We don’t have to have it all figured out when we start sharing the gospel with others or when we start resisting a certain temptation. We just have to take a step in faith and begin the work. With every baby step we take towards God, he will take leaps to meet us in a mighty way.
Maybe you can set a timer to pray for thirty seconds, or read a chapter of the Bible a day. Like a muscle that is being worked out or a foreign language that is being practiced, in God’s faithfulness, you’ll begin to see progress. Thirty seconds won’t feel like a lifetime anymore and you won’t be surprised when you go over your timer, or you find yourself praying for the cashier who bagged your groceries. You’ll begin to crave God, and feel starved when you only read one chapter or only sit in prayer for a few minutes.
The process of doing outreaches in our community was like learning to walk all over again. We still don’t have it down pat, we are trying different things and we’re still brainstorming. If I’m to be honest, we haven’t seen any fruit from our work thus far. But that’s okay because we’ve started somewhere.
What is the hardest discipline for you to engage in?
What baby steps can you take towards cultivating that in your life?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meagan Gutierrez is a kindergarten teacher in New York City. She is married to her best friend and together they love to travel and eat good food. In her spare time, Meagan loves to serve others and enjoys reading!