What To Do When We Feel Spiritually Dull

Introduction

Opening Illustration: A number of years ago, I was sharing a meal with a man who I believe has some of the strongest faith I know. As we were catching up, I asked him about his faith, and what God was doing in his life. And in a moment of honest transparency, he said something like this, “I’m struggling right now. It’s not that my faith is going to collapse. But I’m in a season where I feel like I’m experiencing all kinds of doubts. And frankly, I’m feeling quite distant from the Lord.”

Personal: Have you ever felt like that? And, if so, what does this say about your faith? And, what do ought we do when we find ourselves in a season where we just feel distant from Christ?

Series Context: Last week we began a five part series through the Song of Solomon. And in our first week I tried to demonstrate to us how we are to read this particular book in the bible. I believe that this entire book is an allegory. The author, Solomon, is using the imagery of the intimacy of a husband and wife, to tell us something profound about God’s relationship to his bride, the Church. Last week we discovered God’s overwhelming love towards us despite our weakness and sin.

Sermon Context: This week, our text takes us to a different aspect in the relationship of Christ to his church. And we’re going to look at the theme of seasons. What we discover in our text today is that the bride has gone through a season of feeling distant from her husband. As Christians, we know that Christ is never actually distant from us, and yet the allegory does describe a very real experience of the Christian faith over time. And the main thrust of this passage can be captured in one short idea, “Because Christ’s love is perfect, we don’t have to be.”

Text: Let us read our text.

Song of Solomon 2:8–17 “The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice. My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.” My beloved is mine, and I am his; he grazes among the lilies. Until the day breathes and the…”

Textual

Introduction: First, let us understand this text. Verse 8 begins in a different tone than last week. Rather than being in the intimacy of the presence of her groom. The bride begins by seeing her husband coming towards her “bounding over the mountains,” which implies that there has been some physical separation between the two of them.

How the Groom Bounds: Before we go too far in this text, we need to see how the husband is described in this. In verse 8, we find his “leaping over the mountains” and “bounding over the hills.” The idea is that whatever moutains the wife had somehow allowed into her relationship with her husband were no hurdle whatsoever for the groom. He bounds over the mountains.

Gazelle & Stag: In verse 9 she says he is like a gazelle or a stag. Gazelles and stags are animals that not only run incredibly fast, but they are leaping animals. They can leap through rocky terrain and make their way over mountainous regions that other animals simply cannot go. And they do it with ease. This is how Christ, our groom, is towards us. The mountians we place in our path that hinder our walk with Christ, are nothing to him. They do not serve as an obstacle. He leaps over them like a gazelle.

Gazing through the Windows: At the end of verse 9 we see that the groom has made it over the mountains and now stands outside the windows looking into the home of this bride. In fact, the language says that he stands “looking through the lattice.” In Israel during the time this was written, houses often had an initial courtyard entryway where guests would be entertained called an “oleah.” The main home was often separated from this “oleah” by a lattice wall. It provided some separation, but you could still peer in an out. So here we have Christ, he has bounded over the hills towards his bride. He is standing at the door peering into the wall. We are reminded of the words of Christ towards his church in Revelation.

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

The Groom Speaks: There he stands, peering through the lattice, and then he speaks. And verses 10-15 record what the groom speaks to his bride.

Arise!: The first word he says is “Arise.” An imperative. He speaks to her and says “Get up and come away with me.” His words imply that there is no time to waste, the moment is now. He has bounded over the hills to her, and now she must simply get off her couch and walk out the door, in order that they may go away together. But notice, that he has to repeat himself. Down in verse 13 he says it again, “Arise, my love, my beautiufl one, and come away.” The implication is that she did not come the very first time he said this. He had to repeat himself.

My Love, My Beautiful One: And see the tone with which he speaks to her. “My love, my beautiful one.” There is no condemnation. There is no remembering that she was the one to build the mountains in the first place. He stands at the door with the exact same powerful love that he had in the very first scene.

The Season Has Changed: Verses 11-15, the groom uses this language of how the season has changed.

Song of Solomon 2:11 “for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.”

The winter and spring are language speaking of a more difficult season. A more trying season. But he says, “You’re coming out of that seasons.” Verse 12, flowers are appearing, and people are outside joyfully singing. In Israel the Spring is marked by the return of the turtledove. This special bird is largely hidden in the winter months, but it returns in the Spring and its singing voice can be hear.

Clefts of the Rock: Then look at verse 14 again.

Song of Solomon 2:14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.”

The rock pigeons are quite famous birds in Israel. Quite literally they live in the face of rocky mountains, hiding away in little holes in the cliffs. Because there are very few enemies that can attack them in those hidden places, there is an abundance of them. The groom looks down at the way he is protecting her, even in her season of distance. She is like one of those rock pigeons. Did you know, that even when you are feeling distant from the Lord, that if you are in Christ, he is hiding you in the cleft of the rock.

John 10:28–29 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

He Desires to Hear Her Voice: Then again, see in verse 14 his intimate language, “Let me hear your voice. Your voice is sweet.” Here he has been speaking to her, he has been speaking over her. He has run to her. And then he pleads “Let me hear your voice. I love your voice.” Do you know the Lord loves your voice. He is always speaking to you and longs for you to speak with him.

Catch the Foxes: Then there is this very powerful little veres in verse 15

Song of Solomon 2:15 “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.””

Foxes are known as cunning and often destructive animals. They are sneaky and find ways around fences. And a few foxes that are not managed can slowly over time really do damage to a vineyard. The groom compares his relationship with the bride to a vineyard. And he is saying that there are little foxes that can wreak havoc on their relationship. She must be diligent to cast them out.

Until the Day Breathes: Look at this last verse in verse 17. These sweet words of the bride. Reflecting on Christ and his words spoken over her.

Song of Solomon 2:17 “Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on cleft mountains.”

She recognizes she is a season that feels like nighttime. The sun is down. The shadows are still strong. But she calls out to him. Come to me like a gazelle. Essentially she calls on him for help to sustain her until the morning dawns.

Doctrine

Main Idea: Because Christ's love is perfect, we don't have to be. This allegory of the bride and the groom is telling the story of Christ and his Church. And it is a story that in some way every Christian in this room can understand. We are speaking here about seasons of faith when we feel weak towards Christ. Seasons of faith when our heart is full of doubts, or our lives are full of clutter in such a way that it just seems our passion for Christ has dimmed somehow.

Nonbelievers: Before we go further, we must draw a distinction. I do not want to confuse where the Bible is clear. Our text today is in regards to seasons of faith. It is not speaking to the one who has not put their faith in Jesus and made Him Lord of their life. The faithless person is not in a season of weakness in which the Lord is holding onto them. No, they are outside of the covenant marriage altogether. If you are here today and you feel far from God, and you have never believed on Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, our passage today is inviting you into a covenant marriage with Christ, the perfect groom. That is your first step.

Illustration - Waves: But to the Christian, this passage blesses overwhelmingly. The grace of the gospel gives space for our weakness, does it not? I think of when my daughters were small and I would take them into the ocean and play in the waves. We would hold onto each other. Inevitably a bigger wave would knock us around a little, and her grip on me would loosen. But I was far stronger than my daughters. Her grip may have loosened, but the wave was no threat to her, because I was stronger than the waves. This is our relationship to Christ.

This is why the apostle Paul says

2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

Causes: What causes seasons of weakness in a believer's life? All kinds of things. Let me suggest a few briefly that perhaps you might relate to.

#1 Trials: First, trials and hardships can lead people into seasons of dullness and dryness with the Lord. Now some of you are saying, “Are you kidding? Trials are what make me dependent on God. That’s where I feel my need for him the most.” Praise God, that is healthy. But for many trials and hardship can lead to a dryness of faith. In fact sometimes the dryness is over legitimate theological questions.

Does God even hear my prayers?

Why am I investing so much of my effort into Christ when he’s not even addressing my issues?

I’m all alone in this.

Trials can lead us towards seasons of feeling distant.

#2 Busyness: Second, busyness can lead people into seasons of dullness. Busyness in work. Busyness in wedding planning. Busyness in kids activities. Busyness incaring for aging parents. I do not want to minimize this. Yes, we must prioritize the Lord even in busy seasons. But we are talking about our weaknesses, and the kinds of things that can lead us to seasons of distraction with the Lord. Busyness is a common culprit.

#3 Sin & Sinful Influences: Third, sin, and sinful influences. Sin is anything that runs contrary to God and His law. And sometimes we allow influences into our life that we feel strong enough in our faith to be around, but a little time goes by and we realize that those influences are shaping us more than we realize.

#4 Unmet Expectations: Fifth and lastly, unmet expectations. Sometimes we have false expectations with God. And when he does not meet our false expectation we grow distant. What a sin this is. There is a situation in your life that is difficult and painful. And you plead with God over and over, and you really believe he is going to fix the situation. But a year goes by. Then a second year goes by. Then five years go by, ten years. And slowly cynicsm and skepticism about your faith sinks in little by little.

There are many causes of spiritual lethargy. Each of us are prone to various forms of discouragement, or seasons of spiritual weakness.

Application

But the real question we need to answer is what do we do? Specifically, when we find ourselves in spiritually weak seasons, waht does this text, which is speaking about that topic in our life, instruct us to do. I think there are five tools that are given to us in this text. And we’ve already encountered them, but now I want to make them practical.

A SPEAK HIS LOVE LETTERS OVER YOU OFTEN

In our text, the bride recounts all the words that the groom has said to her. It is as if those words are precious to her. It is as if her groom has written her a love letter, and even though she feels distant, she is going to recite the words of that love letter to herself until she believes them, and knows them, and delights in them.

God’s Word is His great letter to us. It reveals his heart. It reveals his agenda. It reveals the way he has loved us and has promised to love us. His word is unchanging and unfailing. And perhaps counsel I can give to a struggling saint, is to devote yourself to the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Read God’s Word. Meditate on God’s Word. Talk about God’s Word. Like a dog chewing on a bone, chew on the word, until there you have devoured it. You’ve gotten every last lick and every last chew you can possibly get out of it.

And if you say, “Well that’s the point. I’m feeling dry and dull towards the Lord. When I read his word it doesn’t feel like its coming alive. It’s not having its effect on me.” I tell you stick with it. You have been given the Holy Spirit which cries out from within you “Abba Father.” That Holy Spirit is doing a work internally that you don’t yet fully realize. And every time you digest the Word of God, you add fuel into the fire of the Holy Spirit. Every time you mull it over in your mind, you give Him ammunition to start doing work.

B VIGOROUSLY REMOVE THE FOXES THAT ARE DESTROYING THE VINEYARD

Second, virorously remove the foxes that are spoiling your vineyard. In our text, the groom’s final words to his bride are for her to remove the foxes that might spoil the vineyard. This of course is a metaphor. He’s encouraging her to take action, and look for anything in her heart or mind that might take away from the sweet intimacy they share a husband and wife, and to catch them, and get ride of them. Let me remind you that catching foxes is no easy task. Foxes are subtle. THey are sneaky. They creep in through unkown places. The only way to catch a fox is to outsmart a fox. Yet the groom instructs his bride to “Catch the foxes.”

Physical Boundaries: Our relationship to Christ takes time to manicure. And there are all kinds of influences and sins that when we let them into our life, they function like foxes, slowly destroying the vineyard. It is not uncommon for me to be meeting with a young man who is expressing that he is in a season of jadedness with God. And he can’t get out of it. And at some point I’ll ask how his physical boundaries with his girlfriend are. He’ll share that they have been blowing past physical boundaries. And I’ll say “That fox is destroying your vineyard.” Catch the foxes that spoil the vineyard.

Social Media: Or I might talk to a woman who shares a similar sentiment that she feels distant from God. And I might ask the question around her relationship with social media, and how much time she gives her heart and mind to social media. She might jokingly say “Ah, its a problem. I know I know.” And I’ll say, “It might be a bigger problem than you realize.” Catch the foxes that spoil the vineyard.

Misc: What else might foxes be. The music we listen to. The shows we watch. The people we spend time with. The places we go. The habits we form. The mindsets we sink into.

One of the first things you should do when you realize you are in a season of dryness with God, is seriously ask yourself what foxes are in your life that might be destroying the vineyard. Bring in others who are honest with you, and ask them what they see.

C TAKE REGULAR MOMENTS TO NOTICE CHRIST’S PRESENCE AND HIS BLESSINGS

Third, take regular moments to notice Christ’s presence and blessings in your life. I cannot stress enough how important this step is. The bride throughout these verses notices her husband. How he leaps and bounds over the hills towards her. How he gazes at her through the lattice. How he grazes among the lilies. In all of this, what she is doing is noticing his presence even when she feels like the season has been difficult.

I love the first chapter of Ephesians, I memorzed it years ago, and I still often repeat it in my own prayers. Paul is praying for the Ephesian church and he says he is prayin g for them that

Ephesians 1:18 “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”

He wants “the eyes of their heart to be enlightened.” Because only when you can with true spiritual eyes, can you fully understand the riches of Christ’s glorious inheritance in your life.

The truth Christ is at work in a thousand ways all around you. He is standing behind the lattice peering in speaking sweet words of love to you. In our hardness of heart, sometimes we cry out, “God, where are you” when all the while he is standing at the door knocking. Recognize where Christ at work.

Look at this precious Church he has given you, where you can be underneath the preached word, in fellowship with saints that love you, can’t you see him behind the lattice.

Look at the way has pursued you. Even when things haven’t gone as you hoped and prayed, he has never left your side. He has kept your faith from failing. Can’t you see him behind the lattice.

Look at how he led you to perfect passages in Scripture that just spoke to your heart, or how the right worship song came on just the right moment that ministered to you. Can’t you see him behind the lattice.

D KEEP PRAYING FOR FUTURE RESTORATION

Fourth, keep praying fervently for future restoration. In verse 17, the bride writes,

Song of Solomon 2:17 “Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on cleft mountains.”

She is still in this season of shadows and night time. But she knows her husband is bounding over the hills for her. It is a certainty. His love for her is like concrete and will not be moved. And so she hopes in her future full restoration when they will share the loving intimacy of that marital relationship again.

Don’t stop praying. You might barely have the joy in your heart to say more than a few words to God. But go to him. Keep pleading for restoration of faith, and joy in the Spirit. Keep pleading with him that the eyes of your heart might be opened, so that you would really know the riches of his grace in your life. In time, you will wake up one day, and though your circumstances might be worse than they are today, your joy in the Lord will all surpassing.

He bounds over the hills for you! He leaps over the mountains for you. Keep praying.

E HOLD ONTO HIS PROMISES FOR DEAR LIFE

Lastly, hold onto his promises for dear life. Remember verse 14, those rock pigeons that dwell in the clefts of the rock.

Song of Solomon 2:14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face…

Those doves are among the safest of all animals in all of Israel, because they are secure in their holes in the sides of the mountains. They flourish there. In the spring when they come out they are almost overwhelming in their numbers because there is nothing that can harm them.

Church, on the cross and through the resurrection Christ defeated every enemy. He triumphed over Satan by using Satan’s strategies against him. When Satan entered Judas to cause him to betray Christ into the hands of the Pharisees, the Devil believed he was defeating God once and for all by killing the messiah. Little did he know that the Devil was simply a pawn, and that through Christ’s death, the Church would be established. That Christ would not only forgive our sins, and pay our debt in full. But he would secure us for all eternity.

Romans 8:35–37 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Church, no matter how dull you feel towards. No matter how weak your faith may be in this season, your salvation is not dependent on the strength of your faith, but on the strength of the one who loves you, Christ. And if you have repented of sin, and trusted in Jesus Christ for your salvation, you are secure.

Conclusion

Praise God! Because Christ’s love is perfect, we don’t have to be. And if you’re anything like, I’ll tell ya, that’s good news.