The Law of Undulation

I have been listening to C. S. Lewis "Screwtape Letters".  If you've never read or listened to the book, I would highly recommend it.  Chapter 8, I believe, concerns "the Law of Undulation".  Lewis states that, unlike animals, humans go through times of happiness and sadness, joy and sorrow, depression and assurance, etc.  Sometimes, these moments arise and remain for no reason.  Eventually, they dissipate and the other side of the equation returns.  That's basically the gist of the Law of Undulation. There are ups and downs.  Such is the human experience.

Screwtape tells his nephew to capitalize on those low moments, to convince the subject that the low point will never end, that the enemy (for Screwtape, God) has abandoned them, etc.  The subject can be victorious if they but hold steady to their conviction.

Here's what I want to offer you.  Perhaps you have been struggling with something you feel God has called you to do.  You've stepped out in trust and faith that He has truly called you to follow Him down a particular path.  Yet, here you are in the middle of that path and you feel totally disconnected, totally lost, totally alone.  I can't tell you that God is "carrying you" as the poem, "Footprints in the Sand", argues.  What I can tell you is that you  should do as God has told others - Stand still. (1 Samuel 12:16; Exodus 14:13; 2 Chronicles 20:17; Numbers 9:8)  In other words, don't abandon the walk.  Don't give up.  Just keep doing what He asked you to do.  Keep being what He asked you to be.  DO NOT GIVE UP!!!  That's all that Screwtape and his ilk want you to do.  They think that if you stay in that funk, if you remain doubt-full, you will eventually give up and do something different.  But, I'm telling you, don't give up.  Why?  Because, "the one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:24)  Remember, the best is yet to come.