If you’ve joined us via the Spiking a Temp devotion that is running at Proverbs 31 and Crosswalk, welcome! If you haven’t read the devotion yet, click here to do so.

I know at times in my walk with God I have felt completely lukewarm. During those periods, I am indifferent to reading the Bible. I make excuses for not spending time connecting with God. My passion for spiritual things wanes. I have no desire to talk to others about God or what He is doing in my life. Yep, lukewarm is a perfect word to describe my attitude at such times.

I’ve heard it said often that if you feel far away from God, you need only to ask yourself, “Who moved”; Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He doesn’t move. We wander away.

So, what is your current spiritual temperature? Take the short quiz below to find out.

Spiritual Temperature Test

1. I would describe my current relationship with God as:

a. Extremely close   b. fairly intimate    c. mediocre   d. distant

2. My attitude and actions toward reading the Bible each day are:

a. eager and consistent   b. interested and mostly regular   c. complacent and hit-or-miss   d. Bible? Can’t remember where I last put my Bible.

3. When I think of talking to others about God I:

a. get excited   b. think it is interesting– sometimes   c. am reluctant   d. would rather have a root canal!!!

4. As far as scripture memory goes, I:

a. have entire chapters and chunks memorized  b. have several verses I have worked on lately   c. can recall a few portions of scripture, but don’t know the references   d. Can recite John 3:16 in the King James Version. Does that count?

5. When I think of having a personal retreat all alone with God, I’d like to do that:

a. a couple times a year, I LOVE it!   b.  maybe once a year, for refreshment   c. I think I did that once and was bored   d. What? Are you kidding? No Internet or other people? Count me out!

6. I would honestly describe my prayer life as:

a. as close to “praying without ceasing” as I can get   b. I pray everyday at least once   c. I remember to pray a few times a week   d. I pray faithfully–in situations of stress or danger. Other than that, God knows where to find me.

7. When I ponder my spiritual life overall, I would say I am:

a. content with my progress and usually growing      b. somewhat satisfied but long to be closer to God       c. complacent with occasional spurts of growth      d. my spiritual life is a source of disappointment to me

Now, if you answered mostly “a”: You are totally sizzling; mostly “b”: Your spiritual fire is stoked and steady; mostly “c”: your fire has died down somewhat, but the embers are still glowing; mostly “d”: YIKES!!!! You are dangling dangerously near the dreaded LUKEWARM!! Time to take action!

I have found that when my fire dies down for God, it is time to take a break from the regular routine. Maybe you would benefit from doing the same. Here’s how: Grab a Bible, a notebook, an Ipod or MP3 with some good praise music on it and a classic book on prayer or the spiritual disciplines (my favs are Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, A Woman After God’s Own Heart by Elizabeth George and Lord, I Want to Know You by Kay Arthur.)

Then, run, don’t walk, to a place to be alone. Pick a park. Discover an out-of-the-way coffee shop. Swap houses with a friend. Spring for a hotel room or night at a bed and breakfast if you can. The point is to rekindle your fire for God. Spend some time talking honestly with Him about your relationship. Don’t sugar coat things. He knows your thoughts already. Read. Ponder. Listen. Write. Sing. Walk. Rest. Repeat. Do it until you feel you are ready to go back to the daily days of your life.

Then, ask God to guide you to a friend who will keep you accountable. Beg Him to lead you to a sound Bible study group that will keep you consistent. Each morning, pour your heart out to Him about your lukewarmness and how much you desire NOT to be so.

Thankfully, our God’s mercies are new every morning. He never leaves, forsakes or moves. He is not fickle, as we humans are. He is waiting to meet with us each day.  If we will stop long enough to connect with Him.

If you desire to hit the restart button spiritually in your life, no matter where your spiritual temp is on the thermometer right now, you can. You won’t regret it. Leave us a comment letting us know your desire.

Praying for you and me both to leave lukewarm behind,