Roadblocks

This past weekend a group of college students who grew up in our church went on a ski retreat together. I couldn't join them but that was okay since this was something they had put together themselves and we had some other adults go up there with them. They skied, of course, but that wasn't the most memorable part of their weekend. During their time of Bible study together it was obvious that God was moving amongst the group and there was a long period of soul-searching and vision casting that came out of it. They are now more than motivated to move forward as a ministry and as believers than ever before.

Now let me flash forward and backward to the other times I have been involved with students in ministry. There have been moments where I honestly believed I was teaching God's Word in a cemetery. The looks of boredom, the disinterest, and the apathy at times have been overwhelming. Sure there are a lot of kids who don't enjoy sitting around in a Bible study, but when students who claim to be followers of Christ show such little interest in the following part, it's disheartening (Note: I am not necessarily referring to the students I currently serve now, just some experiences that I have had in the past).

Why is it that sometimes we hit spiritual roadblocks? It's not too difficult to recall the times in life when God seemed as if He was breathing down your neck He was so close. You were excited about your faith and His Word and life just spiritually made sense. Then there's those times where you feel absolutely indifferent to Christ. Yeah, you are a believer but the relationship with your Lord is stale and anemic. Why does this happen?

Why? It's because we let it happen, that's why. As a people we are spoiled and pampered. We expect to be entertained and for our commitments to not be too difficult. We also subscribe to a mob mentality: When the group is doing good, we're doing good. On our own, however, it's a struggle. Perhaps the greatest explanation is the fact that we so easily give our allegiance away to other things in life and, as a result, God gets left out.

There is nothing easy about being a follower of Christ. I find joy in my relationship with Christ and I long to be with Him one day. But I know that if I'm too into my own self then I'm not connecting with Him. Satan can try his best to interfere in my relationship with Christ, but we all know that he's just a loser and has no real power. The problem lies squarely on our shoulders: If there's something in your spiritual road then stop, seek God's help in moving it out of the way, and press on.