• After the cadence of weekly work and the day of rest, the basic increment of the Christian life is the 24-hour day. Each begins with fresh mercy from God (Lam. 3:23) and our renewal in His love and joy (Ps. 90:14). So the Church renews covenant with God every week, but as individuals we do so every day: renewing our intention to follow faithfully (“…let him take up his cross daily…” – Lk 9:23), and calling on Him for the strength to do so (“ But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you” – Ps. 88:13).
• When we are “doing well” (whatever that may mean), and our sense of need goes away, we tend to lay aside the patterns of daily abiding and weekly worship. It never ends well. “ Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matt. 6:34), which means both that we shouldn’t borrow trouble from tomorrow, and that when we cease abiding in Christ we must face each day’s trouble alone. My favorite metaphor for this: Bunyan’s Pilgrim seeing a path right alongside the narrow path, but slightly easier and seemingly headed in the same direction, shifts over, eventually drifts far-afield, and finally lands in the dungeon of the castle of Giant Despair. So often we find ourselves in some place of misery and can’t imagine how we got there. It may not be that complicated.
• Crucial to our ongoing faithfulness (and this is the mission, not success or happiness but faithfulness) is the understanding that “ he knows our frame, he remembers that we are but dust” (Ps. 103:14). When we assume the god-like posture of being self-sustaining, our dust-built frame breaks down. So a walk of daily abiding, daily dependence, is a two-fold blessing: we have the existential joy of much closer union with Christ (“ satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice…” – Ps. 90:14), and we unburden ourselves of crushing care (1 Pet. 5:7-9).
• A caveat: most of us know how to project the common lament over not walking very closely with God, and the appearance of remorse that we feel we are supposed to have. So, in the absence of real godliness, we at least credit ourselves with genuineness, which is now (oddly enough) taken to be nearly the same thing. Can we say this? All of us are sophisticated enough to recognize one another’s falseness in these moments. Who wants to leave the legacy of being false with respect to the most important things in life? Have the love and courage to say to your friend, “ so, how do we fight this together?” Call it what it is and fight it. As Oswald Chambers used to say so encouragingly: “ God will tax the energy of the farthest star to assist you.”
• Finally, on another note, a plug for pastors. This is R.C. Sproul Jr. on three ways to encourage your pastor. I would say more in point #1 about preaching and worship, but maybe RC Jr. is not a preacher. Also, there’s the suggestion in this that pastors minister for feedback, or pats on the back, which in truth is a weakness of ministers, yours included. So, take it with a grain of salt. But I know for a fact, and I’ve heard this from the strongest and best of men, all ministers feel at times they are laboring without fruit. It will make them better men and ministers if they know their labor produced something. True for anyone.