Analogies

We like analogies.
They're clever, and quirky.

They aid in understanding and can at times be quite funny. Sometimes they're serious and require straight faces and no talking. Others may be sad and make us simply think about the meaning, value, and estates of life.

But there seem to be some of which are spoke of all too often. In the Christian realm of life, some of those might be being hungry, thirsty ... or the desert, a cold heart, or hard heart! But the crazy thing is, as often as these little relationships are thrown around, they work. They always work. They convey what we want to say, but aren't sure how to without talking our heads off or writing 'til our hands break.

Maybe these 'Christian' ones are given to us for a purpose. Maybe its so we can identify with others when they say, "Man, I am really feeling cold at heart toward God. ..." Maybe its so we can say what we want precisely, to make a point. Maybe, just maybe its so we can be made aware of our own current spiritual state. I don't know, those are just ideas?

The desert analogy is the one I seem to return to all too often. Its associated with statements like, "I feel like God is so far away, its like I am in a desert land without communion with Him." or "I don't know how long I can take being in the spiritual desert, I feel as if my life is just wasting away!" These are by no way true, but they convey what I mean.

I guess, this is a time to vent or confess or whatever ... and I know I need to do this with the Lord, and I will ... but I have been in this so called desert land for months, quite literally. That's not to say I haven't prayed, or seen God work in my life, it simply means I am just very insensitive and hard at heart to what the Lord may be doing, or wanting to do in my life for His sake. I want to be close and feel His heart beat as I walk around campus, I want to be motivated in the means of grace, I want to want God! But, if the truth be told, there is no true motivation there. There is no real substance ... and I don't know that anything suddenly changed to bring this time about, it seems as if it just happened.

I have rationalized it for sometime, saying oh its just a season, a passing thing! What, though, if its not. What if for some reason pursuing the Lord remains this hard, am I simply going to relax and give in? No! I love God and I love Him cause He loves me, I just don't feel very much right now and I don't know exactly why.

Man, I wish there were a good analogy to describe how I wish I felt! How I wish I were!