Stuck in a rut? Finding life routine and pointless? Bored in your job? Here are four questions to challenge your thoughts and actions.
Leslie Koh
There are times in life when nothing seems to be going quite right. Or, ironically, nothing seems too wrong.
When you’re in a job that isn’t the worst job in the world and pays the bills, but is utterly boring.
When life is kind of cruising along smoothly but somewhat aimlessly—the job’s all right, the marriage is okay, the kids haven’t burned the house down (yet), but you’re wondering:
Is this all to life? Is that what God made me for?
In some ways, being stuck in a mundane, non-changing pattern of work and life is tough. To be sure, it’s not as bad as a crisis, when life gets turned upside down. (Although, sometimes, just sometimes, you’re almost tempted to think—well, at least a crisis helps you focus on the things that really matter.)
But, the thing about being stuck in a rut is that you don’t know if things will get better or worse, or when (and whether) this banal, listless, and uninspired routine will end. You’re afraid to ask for more in life, in case things actually get worse. You might even feel a little guilty for feeling ungrateful for an uneventful life. And you can’t complain too much about it, because others might be living through a crisis and would probably love to switch places with you.
Sounds familiar? If it does—fret not, you’re not alone. Boredom is a struggle for many. German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer reportedly said:
“The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom.”
Being a follower of God doesn’t spare us from this experience. Many of us will struggle with listlessness and boredom at some point of our lives—if we’re actually fortunate enough not to be bounced from one crisis to another.
So what can we do? Perhaps we can ask ourselves some of these questions?
Is Boredom a Bad Thing?
There have been times in my life when things just happened, one after another. When my dad was diagnosed with cancer. When my wife and I lost two loved ones to sudden death within the space of weeks.
At such times, I would think, Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have a boring life right now.
Ironically, when God appears to answer this unsaid prayer, I find myself complaining. So, at such times, I try to recall the times when life was not boring, and remind myself to be grateful that nothing is happening right now. As it has been said, “No news is good news.”
If this sounds a bit like mental gymnastics or positive thinking, consider the fact that the biblical philosopher Solomon went through this process, too. After lamenting the apparent pointlessness of life, he concluded: “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil” (Ecclesiastes 2:24).
The reason for Solomon’s conscious decision to see life differently, however, was not only philosophical but theological.
If we remember that everything we have in life, exciting or not, is a provision and blessing from God, then we will be more grateful for what we have.
As Solomon said: “This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” (Ecclesiastes 2:24–25).
What’s Really Happening in the Non-Happenings?
What if our boredom is not due to a lack of events, but a lack of passion and focus on what really matters in life?
This might sound a little harsh, but it’s not that surprising, if you think about it. A new and meaningful job excites us with novelty and challenge, but after a few years, it becomes so routine and easy that we begin to feel bored and unchallenged, and our minds and hearts start to wander. Or, we feel that we can never reach the heights we once did, and become cynical and tired. We forget why we’re doing what we do.
In his latest Journey Through Series title, Haggai & Malachi, theologian Mike Wittmer notes that when the Israelites first returned from exile, they were immensely excited to rebuild their temple.
After laying the foundation, however, they realised that it would never measure up to the previous temple built by King Solomon, and lost heart. This gradually turned into cynicism, which then affected their devotion to God. They forgot that God had simply wanted them to keep their eyes on Him and worship Him, and not to worry about the outcome of their work.
As Haggai 1:6–11 explains, this is why God stopped blessing the fruit of their labour. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away,” He tells them. “Why? . . . Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house” (v.9).
Mike writes: “You and I may not be stuck because of our Father’s discipline, but if we feel stuck, it’s at least in part because we’ve taken our eyes off Him.
It’s impossible to feel stuck for long when we’re living for our true end, ‘which is Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Colossians 1:27).”
Are we bored because we’re looking only for the next big thing or novel experience for ourselves, and forgetting that we have been placed here to serve God and bring Him glory?
Is There a Reason for the Repetition?
There are some things in life that cannot always be had or won through exciting means.
To build a good habit or do something well, you need to do something over and over again, until it becomes muscle memory or second nature.
To become stronger, you need to lift weights in countless repetitions, day after day, week after week. To be able to walk, run, swim, or cycle farther, you need to keep walking, running, swimming, and cycling.
We often call this practice a “discipline”, and try to distinguish it from the other meaning in this word, of “punishment”. Yet, the two are sometimes related: the pain of doing something repeatedly, or the punishment we suffer for failing to do it at all, will help us to do it well.
Hebrews 12:7–11 on discipline could well refer to both meanings of the word. In fact, the Greek word used, “paideia” has the meaning of “rearing of a child” and “training”.
“Endure hardship as discipline,” the writer of Hebrews says. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (vv. 7, 11).
In a previous job, I spent years writing and rewriting, editing and being edited every day. There were many times when it seemed pointless, boring, and repetitive. Why do this again and again, when I already know how to do it? Years later, however, I realised the practice honed my skills and gave me the confidence to do it as a service to God. Would this have been possible after doing it just once or twice? I doubt it.
Of course, I wouldn’t have realised this at the time. Only in hindsight, do we see God’s divine timing and arrangement.
If we surrender our time, work, and efforts to His will, nothing will ever be wasted.
Do You Need to Rebuild the Temple?
After chastising His people in Haggai 1:3–11, God tells them what they need to do to refresh their walk with Him: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honoured” (vv. 7–8).
Building the house of God, of course, wasn’t just about physically erecting the building where they would offer their regular sacrifices.
It was also about putting Him at the centre of their lives and daily routines, gathering regularly to listen to His Word, keeping His law in their hearts and obeying it in their words and actions, and being holy, just as He was holy.
What might this look like in our modern day? Do we need to make a fresh commitment to spend more time with God and in His Word? Do we need to review our priorities in life, or our routines to see whether we have conveniently left out God or sidelined Him?
Moving On with a Fresh Perspective
Of course, making all these changes may not entirely change the feeling of being stuck in a rut. But as we review our own thinking and attitudes, we may get a fresh perspective of our daily routines and present circumstances.
We may become more grateful for the lack of happenings, because it simply also means the lack of crises.
We may delight in the routine, knowing that it may be a way to glorify God through the ordinary, and to be faithful in the things we do each day.
We may become more patient, knowing that the endless repetition of our work may be preparing us for something unknown and yet to come.
We may also take this time of relative peace to review our purpose in life and our walk with God.
Being stuck in a rut is challenging, but it may well be purposeful, if that “rut” directs us towards God.
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