There are times when spiritual life can become mechanical.

You still do all the normal things. You attend worship, pray, read Scripture, or serve where needed. But underneath it all, there can be a weariness. Faith begins to feel less like living and more like maintaining, like you are just going through the motions

Part of the reason that happens is because we subtly begin to think of Christianity mainly as improvement. We focus on becoming more disciplined, more patient, more faithful, more mature. And while growth is certainly part of the Christian life, we don’t always see it. So, it can seem stagnant. Yet, growth is not where Paul begins in Ephesians 2.

He begins with death.

“You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.”

Dead—not struggling, not weakened, not in need of minor correction. Spiritually dead.

Paul says this because he wants us to understand the true depth of what God has done. Christianity is not God helping spiritually tired people get back on their feet. It is God giving life to those who could not create life in themselves.

“But God, being rich in mercy…”

Again, everything changes with those words.

God does not wait for people to become spiritually impressive before acting. He moves toward the dead. Toward sinners. Toward those unable to rescue themselves.

I once heard pastor say that before believing in Jesus, we are like a swimmer drowning in the sea and Jesus is a life guard. If we just call out, He’ll save us. Yet, that is not how God describes it. God says that before believing in Jesus we are dead, not drowning. And Jesus doesn’t wait for us to call out to Him, He goes and gets us dead people and rescues us because of His grace.

“And made us alive together with Christ.”

That is the center of the passage. God has united you to the risen Christ, and because Jesus lives, you now share in His life.

This means the Christian life is not sustained by your energy, determination, or emotional momentum. Its source is Christ Himself.

There will still be days when you feel spiritually dry or weak. There will still be struggles with sin, distraction, or doubt. But your spiritual life does not depend on keeping yourself alive through constant effort.

God has already made you alive in Christ.

That reality continues to shape your life now. In His Word, He continues to speak life. In Baptism, He joined you to Christ’s death and resurrection. In the Lord’s Supper, He continues to strengthen and sustain you with Christ’s own body and blood.

The Christian life is not built on trying to create spiritual life within yourself. It is lived by continually receiving the life Christ gives.

So, when your faith feels weak or your heart feels tired, remember where your life comes from.

You are alive together with Christ.

And His life is stronger than your weakness.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for making me alive together with Christ when I could not give life to myself. Forgive me for the times I rely only on my own strength or treat the Christian life as something I must sustain alone.

Renew me through Your Word and Sacraments. Strengthen my faith, and remind me that my life rests in Christ who lives and reigns forever.

Help me to live today trusting in the life You continue to give.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.