Why You Slumpin'

Slump - To fall or sink heavily; collapse

What does a slump look like? In baseball, a slump means that you go a certain amount of at bats without hitting the ball, thus keeping you from moving forward to the next base.

Slumps can happen in our walks with Christ too, and they function in a similar fashion. A slump occurs when we Christians go through seasons in life where it seems like we can’t do anything right or like we’re stuck in one place spiritually fighting off the same struggles that we always have been. Well then, how do we maneuver our way out of a slump?

When a coach notices “A player in a slump”, he keeps the player out for a couple of games to better his technique and climb out of the slump.

The Bible says something similar in Matthew 11:28, when Jesus says, “Come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest”. This feeling of being burdened and heavy laden is an even better way of defining the slump. The first three words of this verse are “Come to me.” When we are graveled under burdens and a heavy heart, Jesus instructs us to simply but effectively go to him. If you are experiencing a “slump” you easily slip in to a routine, slump on Saturday, go to Jesus on Sunday, and back to slumpin' on Monday. For the ones who enjoy this routine you can stop here, but for those who don’t – keep reading.

The last step you must take in order to live a slump-free life is preventing the slump. Preventing the slump in my opinion is the toughest part of the process. Preventing “The Slump” means discovering the root of the problem and uprooting it so that its negative influence over you ceases. Unfortunately, people quiver at thought of changing themselves even when it is for the better because, believe it or not, it requires effort. Yes, I said it! Don’t hate me for it, but it’s true! An effective Christian life requires effort! Effort to remove yourself from compromising situations, effort to grow in our knowledge of God, and effort to reject the slump immediately when it comes at our doorstep.

I will be honest; this seems like something tiresome and unchanging. Many of us sometimes, myself included, try to follow similar steps in beating our own slump, but we come up empty handed and frustrated. The problem is many of us go into it thinking that we can change ourselves alone. We don’t acknowledge the power and the necessity of grace in our situation. The definition of grace in essence is getting what we don’t deserve. We didn’t deserve to be saved through Jesus’ death on the cross, but by grace, although we had sinned, God “has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22). In the same way, we can only change ourselves after acknowledging and believing that we need grace. We are only changed when we trust and believe that God is the only one who can change us, and there is freedom in that!

Ultimately, the more we seek a relationship with God, the easier it will be to reject the slump. In the words of worship leader Jeremy Riddle, “sinful choices and attitudes stem from a lack of intimacy with God.” As a result, the more we seek God and develop a relationship with the Father, the more we will want to reject the slump and the more we will walk in His purity and purpose.