“And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” (Isaiah 29:13, NLT)
A young mother got up during the night to feed her newborn infant. The child was still not sleeping through the night. For several weeks, Charlene woke to the shrill sound of a child needing nourishment. Each night she would take the child gently out of bed, sit in the rocking chair, and breastfeed the child. Taking care of two young children along with the infant made her very tired. The weeks without a full night’s sleep kept Charlene foggy each day and irritable with her family.
One morning, Charlene woke to an odd sound. It sounded like a melody. She followed the sound, going toward the baby’s crib. There, she found her three-year-old daughter and her husband singing to her newborn son. When Charlene asked them why they were singing, the girl said that the baby needed a friend and mommy needs to sleep. Her husband just smiled and wrapped her in his arms. Over the next few minutes, Charlene came out of her morning haze to realize that the whole family was trying to give mom a break. The daughter realized that mom was so tired, she was going through the motions. Her husband just wanted to give her a few more uninterrupted moments of slumber. Charlene took the next few minutes to cherish how beautiful these moments were to her family. With tears in her eyes, she hugged her daughter thanking her for giving mommy extra sleep. She gave her husband her brightest smile. Throughout the day, Charlene spent extra time with all three children. She didn’t want to sleep-walk through these very important days in her family’s life. She vowed to herself that she would be less irritable and more loving.
It's not just tired and weary mothers with newborns who can be found inattentive and indifferent. Any one of us can be caught in a rut. Have you ever had a period in your spiritual life, when you were just through the motions? I believe every one of us will experience going through life in a spiritual haze. Do you ever say the Lord’s Prayer in worship out of rote, in monotone, without even pausing to consider the beauty of its words?
I remember visiting a church during late December. The congregation was hosting their annual Christmas program with special music, lots of lights, the retelling of the Christmas story, with candle-lighting and Christmas carols. It was a magical service. After the service, I overheard a member of the church spouting how many hours it took to prepare for the program. She mentioned how hard it was for the children to rehearse, the difficulties in putting up the lights, and all the many preparations that had to be done each year to prepare. She finally remarked, “I’m so glad this is over. Now, I can get back to preparing for Christmas dinner.” The woman didn’t see this program in its beauty. She didn’t realize how much it had touched my soul. She was going through the motions with this service. She missed its spiritual impact.
When your spiritual life gets in a rut, your spiritual life will be affected. The hymns won’t touch your heart meaningfully. The worship of God will feel habitual and rehearsed. Your participation will become robotic. You will overlook God’s presence. Your spiritual life will lack meaning and direction. Your prayer time will become flat and boring. Worship will seem monotonous. Some might end up sleeping through worship. That won’t count the number who are spiritually asleep at the wheel. Be careful when this happens. Like Charlene went through the motions in caring for the amazing miracle of her newborn, you might find yourself spiritually numb and miss the awesome presence of the Almighty.
In the days of the prophet Isaiah, the people of Israel and Judah had fallen away from God. They began to place more emphasis on military alliances than God’s power. Their commitment to God waned. Their prayers became ritualized. They “honored God with their lips, but their hearts were far from God” (Isaiah 29:13). Their worship became more focused on “man-made rules”. Their religious actions became mere formalities. They functioned like drones, saying words that were more rote than heart-felt. Not long after Isaiah challenged the people of God for this spiritual malaise, sinfulness and war and famine overtook the land. What began as a spiritual rut ended up in the destruction of the Temple.
Don’t overlook the dangers of taking things for granted. Watch out for spiritual ruts. When you go through the motions in your spiritual life, you will often fail to see what God is doing. As you go through the motions, you may not realize the miracles happening right in front of you or perceive the beauty of the moment. If your prayers become rote, your time with God is wasted. As our scripture for today warns, people who only honor God with their lips have lost the connection with God in their heart. Then, all manner of things is liable to fall apart.
If you are caught in a spiritual rut, do something different in your spiritual life. If you normally pray at night, pray while taking a walk. If your worship feels practiced, take notes, join the choir, start a new Bible Study program, or visit a revival service. If the mass feels like ritual, do something special in your church. If your prayers seem forced, find a new person to pray with or read a devotional beforehand. If you haven’t read the Bible lately, pick one up and spend just a few minutes reading something from the gospels or join an online Bible Study group. Read a few meditations from this web site. Speak with your pastor or priest. Go do a new mission. Find someone in need. Donate your time to a good cause. Take time for your soul to catch up with your body. All in all, time spent bringing new life to your relationship with God can become a lifesaver!
One morning, Charlene woke to an odd sound. It sounded like a melody. She followed the sound, going toward the baby’s crib. There, she found her three-year-old daughter and her husband singing to her newborn son. When Charlene asked them why they were singing, the girl said that the baby needed a friend and mommy needs to sleep. Her husband just smiled and wrapped her in his arms. Over the next few minutes, Charlene came out of her morning haze to realize that the whole family was trying to give mom a break. The daughter realized that mom was so tired, she was going through the motions. Her husband just wanted to give her a few more uninterrupted moments of slumber. Charlene took the next few minutes to cherish how beautiful these moments were to her family. With tears in her eyes, she hugged her daughter thanking her for giving mommy extra sleep. She gave her husband her brightest smile. Throughout the day, Charlene spent extra time with all three children. She didn’t want to sleep-walk through these very important days in her family’s life. She vowed to herself that she would be less irritable and more loving.
It's not just tired and weary mothers with newborns who can be found inattentive and indifferent. Any one of us can be caught in a rut. Have you ever had a period in your spiritual life, when you were just through the motions? I believe every one of us will experience going through life in a spiritual haze. Do you ever say the Lord’s Prayer in worship out of rote, in monotone, without even pausing to consider the beauty of its words?
I remember visiting a church during late December. The congregation was hosting their annual Christmas program with special music, lots of lights, the retelling of the Christmas story, with candle-lighting and Christmas carols. It was a magical service. After the service, I overheard a member of the church spouting how many hours it took to prepare for the program. She mentioned how hard it was for the children to rehearse, the difficulties in putting up the lights, and all the many preparations that had to be done each year to prepare. She finally remarked, “I’m so glad this is over. Now, I can get back to preparing for Christmas dinner.” The woman didn’t see this program in its beauty. She didn’t realize how much it had touched my soul. She was going through the motions with this service. She missed its spiritual impact.
When your spiritual life gets in a rut, your spiritual life will be affected. The hymns won’t touch your heart meaningfully. The worship of God will feel habitual and rehearsed. Your participation will become robotic. You will overlook God’s presence. Your spiritual life will lack meaning and direction. Your prayer time will become flat and boring. Worship will seem monotonous. Some might end up sleeping through worship. That won’t count the number who are spiritually asleep at the wheel. Be careful when this happens. Like Charlene went through the motions in caring for the amazing miracle of her newborn, you might find yourself spiritually numb and miss the awesome presence of the Almighty.
In the days of the prophet Isaiah, the people of Israel and Judah had fallen away from God. They began to place more emphasis on military alliances than God’s power. Their commitment to God waned. Their prayers became ritualized. They “honored God with their lips, but their hearts were far from God” (Isaiah 29:13). Their worship became more focused on “man-made rules”. Their religious actions became mere formalities. They functioned like drones, saying words that were more rote than heart-felt. Not long after Isaiah challenged the people of God for this spiritual malaise, sinfulness and war and famine overtook the land. What began as a spiritual rut ended up in the destruction of the Temple.
Don’t overlook the dangers of taking things for granted. Watch out for spiritual ruts. When you go through the motions in your spiritual life, you will often fail to see what God is doing. As you go through the motions, you may not realize the miracles happening right in front of you or perceive the beauty of the moment. If your prayers become rote, your time with God is wasted. As our scripture for today warns, people who only honor God with their lips have lost the connection with God in their heart. Then, all manner of things is liable to fall apart.
If you are caught in a spiritual rut, do something different in your spiritual life. If you normally pray at night, pray while taking a walk. If your worship feels practiced, take notes, join the choir, start a new Bible Study program, or visit a revival service. If the mass feels like ritual, do something special in your church. If your prayers seem forced, find a new person to pray with or read a devotional beforehand. If you haven’t read the Bible lately, pick one up and spend just a few minutes reading something from the gospels or join an online Bible Study group. Read a few meditations from this web site. Speak with your pastor or priest. Go do a new mission. Find someone in need. Donate your time to a good cause. Take time for your soul to catch up with your body. All in all, time spent bringing new life to your relationship with God can become a lifesaver!