Bored with God
Have you ever seen the Instagram account called subparparks? A graphic designer began reading 1-star Yelp reviews about national parks and decided to illustrate them. My favorite is the one about the Grand Canyon. The review was titled “A hole. A very large hole in the ground.” If you’ve been there, it IS a large hole in the ground but also a magnificent sight and you can appreciate its beauty, complexity, and the forces of nature that created it.
Before you leave this page to go check out the account, I want you to think about how we might find ourselves having this same kind of dismissive attitude towards God. There are times when we pray, read his word or hear from him, but then forget about it quickly. We might be afraid to admit it but there are times when we get bored with God.
Why do we get bored?
When that happens, we should reflect on the reason why we can be bored with not only the creator of the Grand Canyon but also the rest of the world. He made every cell in our bodies and is with us everywhere we go. The one who puts all of the cosmos in order is also concerned about sustaining the tiniest bird with food (Matthew 6:25-26). The Apostle Paul said that he considers “everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8). He was convinced nothing else was as valuable as enjoying Christ and discovering more about him.
A couple of reasons we get bored with Christ:
1. Your heart has been hardened.
This can happen because of habitual sin or a slow drifting from making Jesus the priority. We see stories of the Pharaoh of Egypt, the Israelites in the wilderness, and even some of Jesus’ own disciples with hard hearts. This condition of their hearts gave them a distorted view of who God was and what he was doing. A hardened heart looks for comfort, satisfaction, and purpose in other things besides God. After the Israelites were exiled from their country because of a lack of belief, God revealed their issues. He said: “I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:25-26).
2. You have a wrong view of what a life lived for Christ should look like.
Perhaps you’ve bought into the lie that following Jesus just means trying to live like a good person who follows the rules. If I’m honest, that sounds boring and was never the full kind of life Jesus called his disciples to live. He told them in John 20:21 that just “as the father has sent me, so I am sending you.” They were meant to live for Jesus, help his kingdom expand and realize they were living in a spiritual battle. Jesus gave them his Holy Spirit to teach them not only knowledge about God but what he wanted them to do with that knowledge. And the great news is that everyone was supposed to show the world God’s love and help people connect to Jesus in different ways. He created each of us with gifts to use and wants to send us on an adventure to use them.
How to get “unbored” with Christ.
If you feel like your heart has gotten hard, spending an intentional period of time with Jesus will soften it. This might include fasting from food for a meal or fasting from media of some kind. Your goal should be to get alone with Jesus and his word so he can speak to you. Sin is often a part of the hardness and your time with him can also include a healthy dose of repenting. This repentance and time with Jesus will lead to your joy.
If you are stuck in the thinking that living for Jesus is boring, you can find other followers of Jesus who are filled with joy. Ask them about the ways they find joy in Jesus. Another great way to change your perspective is through exploring some books (listening or reading) written by followers of Jesus who were filled with joy.
I would recommend:
Practicing the Presence of God – Brother Lawerance
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
Fresh Air – Chris Hodges
The Prodigal god – Tim Keller
Before you leave this page to go check out the account, I want you to think about how we might find ourselves having this same kind of dismissive attitude towards God. There are times when we pray, read his word or hear from him, but then forget about it quickly. We might be afraid to admit it but there are times when we get bored with God.
Why do we get bored?
When that happens, we should reflect on the reason why we can be bored with not only the creator of the Grand Canyon but also the rest of the world. He made every cell in our bodies and is with us everywhere we go. The one who puts all of the cosmos in order is also concerned about sustaining the tiniest bird with food (Matthew 6:25-26). The Apostle Paul said that he considers “everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8). He was convinced nothing else was as valuable as enjoying Christ and discovering more about him.
A couple of reasons we get bored with Christ:
1. Your heart has been hardened.
This can happen because of habitual sin or a slow drifting from making Jesus the priority. We see stories of the Pharaoh of Egypt, the Israelites in the wilderness, and even some of Jesus’ own disciples with hard hearts. This condition of their hearts gave them a distorted view of who God was and what he was doing. A hardened heart looks for comfort, satisfaction, and purpose in other things besides God. After the Israelites were exiled from their country because of a lack of belief, God revealed their issues. He said: “I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:25-26).
2. You have a wrong view of what a life lived for Christ should look like.
Perhaps you’ve bought into the lie that following Jesus just means trying to live like a good person who follows the rules. If I’m honest, that sounds boring and was never the full kind of life Jesus called his disciples to live. He told them in John 20:21 that just “as the father has sent me, so I am sending you.” They were meant to live for Jesus, help his kingdom expand and realize they were living in a spiritual battle. Jesus gave them his Holy Spirit to teach them not only knowledge about God but what he wanted them to do with that knowledge. And the great news is that everyone was supposed to show the world God’s love and help people connect to Jesus in different ways. He created each of us with gifts to use and wants to send us on an adventure to use them.
How to get “unbored” with Christ.
If you feel like your heart has gotten hard, spending an intentional period of time with Jesus will soften it. This might include fasting from food for a meal or fasting from media of some kind. Your goal should be to get alone with Jesus and his word so he can speak to you. Sin is often a part of the hardness and your time with him can also include a healthy dose of repenting. This repentance and time with Jesus will lead to your joy.
If you are stuck in the thinking that living for Jesus is boring, you can find other followers of Jesus who are filled with joy. Ask them about the ways they find joy in Jesus. Another great way to change your perspective is through exploring some books (listening or reading) written by followers of Jesus who were filled with joy.
I would recommend:
Practicing the Presence of God – Brother Lawerance
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
Fresh Air – Chris Hodges
The Prodigal god – Tim Keller
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