On the Plateau part 2

On the Plateau part 2: Man-made Plateaus

A couple of weeks ago we talked about how plateaus are a natural part of life. We talked about how important it was to acknowledge this so that we can change the way we walk accordingly.

Today we are going to look at man-made plateaus. What are man-made plateaus? Well, to put is simply, man-made plateaus are when our drop in enthusiasm and lack of progress is directly caused by our own actions. For instance, if we suddenly stop reading the Word of God and praying, we will end up on a plateau in our relationship with God. If we stop practising a skill that God has given us, eventually our improvement will slow down and we will find ourselves on a plateau.

That was the case in the book of Ezra. Some of the people of Israel had returned from exile and had begun to build the temple (Ezra 1-3). However, after opposition from their neighbours (Ezra 4:4-5a) they had become discouraged and stopped work.

They had the foundations of the temple laid but nothing built on top of it. They were on a plateau. What was God's response? Did He sympathise with their plight? After all, they had only stopped because of opposition. It wasn't really their fault.

Haggai 1: 2-3, 8 NLT
2 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’”

3 Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?

8 Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord.

God's response is not to accept the people's excuses, however valid they might seem to us. His response is to encourage them to get up on their feet and get back to work.

We need to understand that there will always be excuses and reasons why we can't get back to work. It will always be more tempting to give up than to keep going. When you don't see results, or worse, face outright opposition, it will always take a push to get back up. But that is not a reason to stay on the plateau.

I believe that plateaus reveal the real reasons behind what we are doing. If we are only doing something for public praise or an ego boost, plateaus will soon make us turn back. If all we want is a quick thrill, we will stop when our effort seems to outweigh our reward.

So what is God's response when you seem to have worked yourself into a plateau? Get up and get working! Maybe, like the people in Ezra, you have made the mistake of putting your own interest before God's Kingdom and the rewards seem to have dried up (see Haggai 1). Maybe you have lost enthusiasm because you aren't improving fast enough. Whatever it is, the key is to keep going. Don't give up now. Do the things that helped you progress before. One day, you will reach the end of the plateau and begin to climb again.