If we would stay close to the Lord and finish the tasks He has assigned to us, we must make sure we continue to talk and listen to Him in prayer. Yet, if our conversation is merely dutiful, perfunctory, or thankless, we will not have the joy He intends to be our strength (Neh 8:10). Being sorrowful about the good He has given us will surely lead us to seek joy in other ways – fleshly ways. As Thomas Aquinas said, “No one can live without delight, and that is why a man deprived of spiritual joy goes over to carnal pleasure.”
By refusing to find our delight and sense of meaning in Christ, we will look for it in such things as sex, drugs, power, money, or fame. These then become idols (1 Jn 5:21, NLT). Sadly, we can even get to the point where we have become so hardened toward the Lord, where we so view Him as being a harsh taskmaster who wants to deprive us of joy, that we don’t much miss our relationship with Him. What a tragedy.
This is part of the reason why He allows us to go through so many hardships and to experience pain and deprivation. When times are tough, we tend to seek Him earnestly and appreciate His kindness. Yet, health, wealth, and power often help us forget the Lord. We are healthy so we have little pain; we are wealthy so we don’t experience much deprivation; and when we are powerful we feel secure and confident – not vulnerable and dependent on His grace (2 Cor 12:7-9). It is sad but true that we need hardship, pain, and lack. This is why suffering is described as being one of His gifts to us (Phil 1:29).
Instead of being timid, learn to be appropriately bold.