Heart Burning

Over the last little bit I have felt spiritually dry... It is not something that any saint ever enjoys... And I am not even sure why it comes? But, it is certainly part of the journey. Any one who has been travelling heavenward for any amount of time knows that valleys are real. That not every day or week is a mountaintop experience where you feel like you are so close to God. Sometimes you find yourself in the 'valley of despair.' You look around and there are big ominous mountains surrounding you and a fog is over your head. It is bleak and dark. And the mountains look so large and treacherous that you think there is no way for you to climb out. 

That is where I have been residing fora couple weeks... In my particular case I know the reason... My time with God has dwindled. It has been crowded out by teachings and writings and bible studies and ministry.

"The great enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ in this present day is the conception of practical work that has not come from the New Testament, but from the systems of the world in which endless energy and activities are insisted upon, but no private life with God." -Oswald Chambers

So, on Sunday I humbled myself before the lord and cried out to my maker, "All I need is you. You are my portion. 'whom have I in heaven but you? And on earth there is nothing I desire besides you.(Psalm 73:25)' God restore my joy in you. Don't let me fake it. I have to tell a bunch of students to be in love with you and if I still feel like this at 6pm I'll just be faking it."

God is good. He answers prayers like that. He fills us with joy and makes our hearts burn. Even when we are spiritually dense. Like the story in Luke 24. There are two disciples walking to Emmaus. Jesus walks with them, but they do not realize it is him, and he 'explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.' Then when he breaks bread with them their eyes are opened to realize it was King Jesus. But he disappears from their sight and they say these incredible words, "were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" Have you ever felt that before? Your heart burning within you because of the affections that Jesus is stirring up in you? That is what I am praying for. My heart to burn. I want to be consumed by a fire for Jesus' name and glory. I am resolved to let everything else wait until I feel that burning. Ministry can wait. Family can wait. Thanksgiving can wait. This is the most important thing. Being glad in God. Being on fire for Him. 

Here is the beauty of a valley... It gives your relationship with Him depth. A person that always lives in a perpetual bliss I cannot relate to. What happens when a friend gets cancer or someone gets in a car wreck or a teenager turns from God? A cookie cutter Christian cannot relate. I don't need a pat Christian response. I need a saint who has been through the furnace of affliction and bears the markings from the fire. I need someone who can say that God is faithful even if the world is falling apart around me. I need that sort of depth. If you are in a valley realize that God is weaning you from the world. He is allowing the darkness for a season so that the only light you crave is Himself. And when the light of His glorious Son breaks over the horizon there will be no comparison to the joy that you will experience. Praise God. Even in the valley praise God.