Have you gotten to a place of disenchantment? You’re not impressed by anything? You’re frustrated with the seemingly mundane?
There are certain times in life when you are easily enchanted. Remember that movie Enchanted? Where she sang every chance she got and never took a moment for granted? Even the most mundane things seemed magical.
That’s what I’m talking about when I say “enchanted.” Most often, enchantment occurs when you’re in a new season of life, or, you’re experiencing something for the first time.
Think about when you watch a movie or, even a live show, for the first time. It is full of excitement and anticipation! You have no clue what’s going to happen next. You are enthralled with the suspense, the energy, and the hope of what may happen next.
When I first moved into my condo back in 2017, I remember walking through the entire 1200 square foot space absolutely ecstatic and in awe. I remember walking between each room and saying, “I can’t believe I own this!”
When Travis and I first started dating, I remember not being able to sleep I was so excited. In fact, that morning of our first date I had gotten ready, cleaned my entire condo, and made pancakes by 9am.
There’s something so enchanting about new beginnings. Firsts.
Similarly, for the new Christian, you are in awe of God! You can’t get over that good news that Jesus died on the cross for you – yes, you!
But, eventually, the newness fades and you start to notice flaws. Perhaps you have hurt from other people. Maybe things no longer meet your expectations.
Regardless of the excitement I had with the new condo, eventually, I began to complain.
The upstairs neighbors walk too loud.
The stairwell smells like smoke.
The disposal makes a loud, weird noise.
The water never heats up fast enough.
But none of those things changed from the time I bought the place to the time I grew frustrated.
It was my heart that had changed.
I got over the enchantment of the beginning & I adopted disenchantment instead.
“It’s nice, but, it’s too small.”
“It’s great, but, we hate having a detached garage.”
“it’s time for something new.”
We assume that the problem is with the thing we’ve become disenchanted with when, really, the problem is with us.
I see it most often with people’s attitudes towards the most important things.
Their faith. Their church. Their marriage. Their job.
So, how do you know you’ve become disenchanted?
- You’ve become unimpressed by the miraculous
There are so many miracles all around us! One of the biggest clues that you’ve become disenchanted is when you see the miraculous as ordinary.
When I was in college, one of the players of the Miami Heat came to speak at our chapel. He was a part of the team when they won the World Title in 2012. Imagine how awesome that must have been!
When they went to celebrate at their parade, the crowd started chanting, “repeat! Repeat! Repeat!”
He expressed how overwhelming it was. They had just won the World Title! They had put in hours of effort and had fought for wins each and every game…only to have the crowd expect that they do the same thing next year.
I think that speaks to our human condition! Regardless of the good things going on, you see them as either coincidences or “not enough.”
The best example I can think of (because I never played on the Miami Heat…) is at church when we celebrate new people who have begun a relationship with Jesus. Sometimes when we here that this happened to 1 person, it’s easy to think, “that’s it?”
We look on social media and see the best photos, videos, and recaps of conferences and we think we should be experiencing that every Sunday, but, we simultaneously complain about getting to church early for worship practice.
We must practice perspective so we can be impressed with the daily miracles.
2. You turn to criticism rather than praise
I remember my mom sending me videos or talking about cool things going on in other people’s lives and I had a hard time with it. Honestly, I was struggling because of the discontentment in my own life.
Of course, rather than admit this, I just offered criticism rather than praise. I needed a way to position myself as “better than” in order to feel better about my own discontentment.
It goes beyond just instances of comparison. Sometimes you critique the things closest to you instead of being grateful for them.
You may critique your house, your marriage, your salary, your boss…your life! Anything is on the table when disenchantment settles in.
Be very mindful of exhibiting characteristics of a critical heart. There is a point when critical thinking becomes a critical heart.
In A Tale of Three Kings, the author points out that it is not hard to be a critic. It’s not hard to find the flaws in something. We act like it’s a skill because we want to put ourselves above whatever we’re criticizing.
In reality, it’s rooted in pride, but it springs up because of disenchantment.
Being a critic is the default of disenchantment.
Do you want to know how you wage war on disenchantment?
You practice gratitude.
Gratitude kills disenchantment.
I love the quote that says,
“I never got over what Christ did for me on the cross.”
It never became mundane. He never took it for granted. He never got over it.
While we should certainly apply this to our faith, you can apply this to anything! That’s why I love telling the story of how Travis and I met. I pray I never get over that God answered my prayer of putting my husband right in front of me. I ran into Travis time and time again before we met and I get giddy every time I think about it because it’s God’s hand at work.
It’s important to reflect on what God has done and fight disenchantment with gratitude so that you can enjoy every moment of this life!
I pray that whether you are tempted to be disenchanted with your faith, your marriage, or your life, you would use gratitude as a tool to overcome it and experience the beauty that a renewed perspective can bring.
LVL 