Slump

This is about the fifth article I have written in the past few months and this one I hope to publish. I have been in a slump. Not just in my studying, writing, and publishing articles but in many aspects of my life. I have pondered, rationalized, wondered, and sometimes ignored the thought of what may be causing my being stuck in neutral. Occasionally I have even prayed about my condition. I know better, but even knowing that I need to pray still affected my slump and attitude.

I have had many promptings to study and write things that have been on my heart, and then after I study and write an article I decide not to publish it. Why, I don’t know. I have had many projects to do, people to follow up with, and things that need to be taken care of but after starting and doing them partway somehow, I seem to blow them off and say I will do them later. 

And no, I am not depressed. I am blessed by the Lord with everything I have. I am happy, marriage is going great, debt-free, and have everything I need and many things I want. So what is missing or what is standing in my way and how do I handle it?

With the above statement said, it answers itself. I CAN’T! That is where my problem started. I did not seek help from my Counselor. In the past, God has helped me many times get out of and stay out of trouble even when I did not ask Him for help. That slipped my memory! God has sometimes helped me instantly when I asked for help and other times He waited until I asked in the proper way and then answered my prayers. I forgot about those times. I ignored scripture that I know would have helped (and have quoted to others). Again, I never sought to seek His wisdom.

As I was working on this article I figured out that I was working in the flesh and Satan was providing temptations. When trying to get to us, some of his strategies are to get us to sit down and rest, fall down or lie down. In this instance, I sat down and rested and did nothing. He also works in many different ways such as through demonic spirits, false doctrines, false teachers, and deceiving spirits. I allowed the deceiving spirits to slow me down.

Another struggle I was dealing with was the thought that even though I feel called to post what I learned but wondered why bother to post my articles because I rarely get any responses, neither positive nor negative. Then I realized that my model should be that of a servant (to be obedient) and not worry about success or replies.     

With that in mind, I think it is about time to do a reboot and get back on track. To do that I looked to the Bible to see if I could find scripture that would help me identify what I was going through and how to use God’s Word to help me center my focus on Jesus and His teachings and get out of my slump. This is what I found;

I did not trust in the Lord as stated in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” And I did not submit to Him and my path was hindered.

I did not think of prayer. Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Nor did I present my problems to Him.

I lacked wisdom and I did not ask God for assistance. James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

The advice and instructions found in the Scriptures were exactly what I needed to read, believe, and use to be able to handle the (and any) situation I was in and get out of it.

Next time I am struggling I hope to remember to go to Scriptures and prayer for wisdom, assistance, and answers.

He is the best Counselor we could ever have!