Winter Blues: Spiritual Spring Semester Slump - Geneva College
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Winter Blues: Spiritual Spring Semester Slump

Picture of Winter Blues: Spiritual Spring Semester Slump
Everyday Living Faith

It’s that time of year, the start of the spring semester slump. Whether students, faculty, or parents, we all know it well. This is the point of the year where we are looking back longingly at Christmas vacation, feeling that our summer vacations are too far away. Every day is the same old routine; we’re exhausted and bored.  While this is a problem, things tend to get better as the spring and summer approach. The weather warms up, and the smiling sun starts to makes us feel happy and energized again. But the real question is: what effect does this seasonal slump have on our spiritual lives?

In times like this not only do we begin to feel apathetic towards work, but also towards God. Doing devotions daily becomes a challenge. And if we do find the time and motivation to do devotions, engaging in them presents a whole new set of challenges. The desire to engage in our church communities lessens as our work lives become busier, and we become increasingly more fatigued. Yet, though it is a struggle, it is in these moments of apathy that it is most important for us to actively pursue God.

One way to pursue God might include an active prayer life that goes beyond thanking God before meals.  When you wake up in the morning, thank God for the night’s rest. When you go to bed at night, thank God for the day’s work. When something in your day makes you smile, thank God for it, because every smile is a reminder of His love and mercy. And on the days when the cares of life are weighing down your smile, pray. Bring the longings of you heart to God, and seek genuine conversation with Him. 

Sometimes we have this misconception that all our prayers have to be beautiful and well-thought out, but through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, that is not always true. Sometimes it is okay to simple say, “Hi” to God as you go through your day. Just as you may say, “Hi” to your friend when you pass them on the sidewalk. We live in this beautiful world that belongs to the Lord.  We encounter Him all the time, so why not say, “Hi?”

Another way to pursue God that goes beyond praying, where you talk to him, is allowing Him to talk to you. How does God do this? Through Scripture. So set a time in your day, every day, to be in God’s Word. When we spend our lives talking to God it becomes harder to be apathetic and ignore Him. 

Making time every day for God can be hard. It is easy to just miss one day, which turns into a week, which turns into a month . . . you know the rest. So don’t rely entirely on yourself to makes this happen, use the resources God gives you. Get involved in a Bible study. Ask a friend to hold you accountable by checking in regularly about devotional time and your relationship with God. Listen to a podcast or sermon. Read a good book.

There are so many books out there, devotional books, books on Christian living, books for men, books for women, books for teenagers, books for adults, memories, fiction books, et cetera. A few I recommend are: Live Fearless by Sadie Robertson, No Little Women by Amiee Byrd, Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, and The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis. Find a text that speaks to you and then really spend some time engaging it.

Life can sometime be monotonous. In those times apathy can set in, taking over friendships, work, time with God. But if you are proactive in seeking relationship with God, than it allows you to be more proactive in appreciating His goodness in your life. And on that note I will leave you with a few Scripture passages that I hope will inspire you to carry on and seek God.

Isaiah 40: 28-31 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (NIV)

II Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (NIV)

James 1: 16-18 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” (NIV)

Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community offering over 115 traditional undergraduate majors and programs to help students serve wholeheartedly and faithfully in their life's work. For more information, contact Admissions - 800.847.8255 or admissions@geneva.edu.

-Katharyne Reitsma ‘20

Opinions expressed in the Geneva Blog are those of its contributors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official position of the College. The Geneva Blog is a place for faculty and contributing writers to express points of view, academic insights, and contribute to national conversations to spark thought, conversation, and the pursuit of truth, in line with our philosophy as a Christian, liberal arts institution.

Mar 6, 2019

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