Zoning out. I’m sure we’ve all experienced it. You’re sitting down, ready to listen to the church service or class when, before you know it, the lecture has ended, you feel sleepy and you haven’t listened to a word the pastor/teacher has said. That’s the type of zoning out we’re all familiar with. But what about the type that we’re not? What about the type that is far more deadlier than the former?
What is zoning out?
In my life, zoning out has always been one of my biggest setbacks that stops me from growing closer to God. It always starts the same; I get slightly sleepy, then a small thought pops into my brain (“I wonder what’s for lunch!”) and before I know it, I’m trapped in a barrage of shower thoughts, random anxieties and am now basically in a world of my own. It happens in school, church and even at home, and is a bad habit that keeps crawling back into my life. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
So why am I bringing up these illustrations? Because I’m also referring to something else.
That “something else” is the second form of “zoning out.” I call it “zoning out spiritually.”
Zoning out spiritually
In my personal experience, this second type of “zoning out” has been one of the biggest threats to belief and Christianity in this generation. If I had to summarise it in a few words, it would be “losing touch with our spirituality.” Think of it this way; if the first version of “zoning out” can be defined as “being there physically but not being there mentally,” the second version could be summed up as “doing the things that a Christian does physically, yet without any emotion or meaning behind it spiritually.”
Here’s an example; you go to church every Sunday and act calmly and politely at church. You don’t swear, try your hardest to look like you’re listening and try to help others whenever the opportunity arises. But as soon as you leave the church, you go wild. You swear in every second sentence, you act rudely towards your parents and you keep making the same old dirty jokes with your friends.
So, what exactly are you getting out of church? A relationship with God? An understanding of His grace? Fellowship that actually impacts your life? I would say probably not.
Using this logic, you can see just how much our generation has been tainted by this illusion of Christianity. It seems like people left and right claim they are Christian, but don’t go to church. They claim to be Christian but they act rudely in sermons and keep God as a secondary priority in their hearts. They claim to be Christian but you can’t see even a speck of God’s love or grace through the way they live their lives. And then you realise that it’s not just them; it’s you and me too. But why is this important?
Fake Christianity
Let’s take a look at Matthew 7:21-23. It reads: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven…On that day many will say to me ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?’ And then I will declare to them,’I never knew you; depart from me you workers of lawlessness.’”
The day Jesus is referring to is the end times where Jesus Christ, the son of God, will judge every soul, the living and the dead. And Jesus saying “depart from me,” is Him saying that these people will go to hell – the very same people who prophesied in his name, the very people who called him Lord. They believed that prophesying in God’s name was enough and that their own actions would lead them to heaven but they are not saved, despite all their “good” deeds.
When you look at it closely, Jesus saying that these souls won’t go to heaven starts to become terrifying. I mean, I’ve never preached in front of a multitude of people or in the pulpit, yet these people have and still aren’t going to heaven. Who’s to say I’m not going to hell?
Fixing the problem
So what can we do about it? Well, nothing without God’s grace. We need to ask God for his mercy through diligent prayer and worship. But we also need to make an effort.
In other words, we need to put effort in developing a real connection with God where wefeel His presence and trust in Him. We need to become His children, love him, respect him and give ourselves up to him wholeheartedly. But how do we do that?
One of the most effective ways I have found of doing this is just a simple daily devotion. 10-15 minutes of pure, uninterrupted time between you and God. But make sure you don’t distract yourself; don’t look at your phone, don’t think about what’s for dinner or anything else. This is time between you and God so try to make use of it well. Read the Bible while you’re there. I mean, how else would you want to spend your time rather than hearing the Word of your Creator, Saviour and Almighty Father?
It may seem obvious but the amount of “Christians” I’ve met that do not do devotion daily is extraordinary. It only takes about 1/96 of your day to have some privacy between you and your God, the one who has sacrificed his only Son for you. So why not start now?
Of course, I’m not perfect and I make mistakes almost constantly. I’m prone to making dirty jokes with my friends. I peek at my phone when the pastor is preaching and, at times, I’m so tired that I forget to pray altogether. But I find comfort in knowing that God holds me close and reels me back in whenever I go astray. Like Isaiah 46:4 says, “I will be your God throughout your lifetime – until your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you”. For me, I can see his love and mercy changing me through my devotions everyday, helping me become more and more like Christ. And I hope that through this article, you can experience that too.
Just in case
Just in case you zoned out over the last 900 or so words, remember this. God is not some culture or religion with strict rules and rituals to follow with empty hearts. He is a living, powerful Father that is everlasting, loving, kind and trustworthy. He is our creator and saviour. And He wants to have a personal relationship with you. How amazing is that?
Written only through the wonderful grace of God and the sacrifice of his only son, Jesus Christ.
