Psalms 55:6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest.

David penned this during troubled times, but I tend to say this to myself often. No, I don’t have much trouble, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to fly away and be at rest. I’ve even planned my escape. The only thing keeping me in the area I live in is the calling of God on my life.

I’m not alone; I see it in the eyes of many around me and I hear it in their words. Daydreaming in the middle of church services when they are there and missing a lot of services. The root cause isn’t persecution, but it seems to be boredom. It’s tough to admit that a person is bored with the things of God, but it does happen. After much consideration I found there are three reasons for boredom.

The first reason for boredom is that there is something else vying for your attention. I have heard it said from those that have a wondering eye that just because they are on a diet doesn’t mean they can’t look at the menu. Maybe you’ve heard it like this, just because you are broke doesn’t mean you can’t window shop. My answer to that is usually, that is why we have so many people overweight and in debt. I have seen it over and over again. A spouse will start looking at a co-worker, friend, or some other acquaintance and next thing you know they are going out for lunch together. It starts innocent enough, but soon they are complaining about their spouse and the sympathetic ear of their lunch companion becomes a snare. I think this is a huge reason why the divorce rate is so high. If more marriages would learn to keep their minds and eyes to each other then there would be less boredom and the excitement will last longer. The same is true with the things of God. …whatsoever things are honest…just…pure…lovely…of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8.

If there is anything vying for the attention you owe to God then you are in danger of boredom, and eventually, you will be looking for a way of escape.

The second reason for boredom is that a person doesn’t find what they are doing as very important. On the wall next to my desk is a post sticky note. On it is a quote, I don’t remember where it came from nor who wrote it, but the truth in it really speaks to me on several different fronts. It says, “The number 1 cause of underperformance is that a person doesn’t think their performance really matters.”  Truth be told, I am absolutely bored with my job and I am constantly looking for something different. It’s not that I don’t have enough to do, because I can’t keep up. It’s not even that I’m not challenged; I just don’t feel like what I do really matters. The same is true in the church; we have a lot of activities, and the preacher may challenge us, but we still get bored. Sometimes we can’t understand it and it gets frustrating, but we have lost the majesty of our place with God.

If you have lost your awe for God then you are at risk of boredom, and eventually you will be looking for a way of escape.

Finally, the third reason for boredom is that there is no advancement; in other words we feel stuck. So much of my understanding of boredom comes from work. I have been offered the next level advancement. I turned it down and I don’t see any other roads to advancement. My ministry doesn’t allow me to work the schedule that I would have to in order to take the advancement. This means I just turned stagnant; at work anyway. It feels the same way at times in our walk with God. Waiting on God to promote us will sometimes make us feel stagnant.

If we don’t see that God has more for us tomorrow than we have today we are at risk of boredom, and eventually you will be looking for a way of escape.

So what do you do when you find yourself bored? We have this cool thing for marriages that we celebrate every year. It’s called an anniversary. Some of us are so bad we need to have constant reminders called dates. This works with God. When you find yourself slipping into boredom then renew the relationship. Celebrate a past experience. Take some special time; this can be through prayer, Bible study, special church services, fasting, or any number of things to remind you of the vitality of your relationship with God.

This walk with God is too great to allow it to suffer; especially because we allowed boredom to creep in and draw our mind away.