I have a very distinct memory of sitting in one of my high school Bible classes several years ago discussing the “Law of Undulation,” that is found in C.S. Lewis’s book The Screwtape Letters. Essentially, this “law” describes how throughout the course of a man’s life, he will experience a series of highs and lows during his earthly existence, or “peaks and troughs” as I will refer to them from this point on. A “peak” is classified as a time when an individual is overall happy; he is satisfied with the current status of his relationships, his work, and his faith, among other things. A “trough,” on the other hand, is the exact opposite of was just described. Lewis defines a trough as a sort of dull “period of numbness” that all of humankind experiences occasionally.
Lewis’s Law of Undulation outlines the natural flow of human affairs. The law’s intention was never to convince people that they must figure out how to eliminate these unfortunate dry spells from their lives; but I (as well as many others, I am sure) fell into the unfortunate trap of believing that it was my responsibility to get rid of these troughs in my life once and for all.
I developed a plan that, unbeknownst to me, was destined to fail before it even began. I was under the false impression that in order to achieve lasting satisfaction in my life (or a peak that would level out indefinitely and never fall to a trough) I merely needed to maintain a strong faith. I remember praying, “God, please give me the strength and the faith and whatever else it takes that I need in order to never fall into a trough again. I’m so tired of the constant ups and downs in my life.”
Believing that you can permanently and single-handedly discard all feelings of discontentment and unhappiness because of your faith can have a remarkable effect on an individual. Imagine my frustration when I discovered that despite my faith in God’s promises, I was still encountering unwanted feelings of loneliness and hurdles in my relationships!
God answered my prayer for an endless peak in my life with a firm, “No.” As I defiantly refused this answer, I gratefully look back at how God chose to reveal the reasoning behind his response to my foolish prayer. God opened up my eyes to my surroundings. Instead of being self-involved 100% of the time like I had been, I started listening to and watching others. It became clear to me that these dark feelings of dullness and disheartened emotions that I hated, but couldn’t seem to be rid of, were endured by even those who possessed the firmest of faiths.
My initial reaction to this realization was dismay. Why does God let all people, even those with unshakable faith, go through this lifelong cycle of peaks and troughs? I do not seek to give a perfect explanation for this, but I have come to see a potential two-fold answer: God wants us to understand that there is something greater in store, and He desires us to trust Him more.
Think of a time when you have been in a trough in your life. Your heart aches to be healed; it often longs for a restoration that is beyond anything this world could provide. 2 Corinthians 5:2 says, “For in this tent [earthly life] we groan, longing to be put on our heavenly dwelling.” There are times in our lives when we yearn for a satisfaction that will only be revealed to us in eternity. Being aware of this truth will helps explain the normalcy of troughs.
In response to this, though, we must lean in all the more to God’s words and promises to us—to rely on him during the times we feel numb to the core. I’ve often heard the saying, “God did not want us to walk through this life unhappy,” but I think a more accurate saying is, “God did not want us to walk through this life with a disillusioned faith.” The peaks and troughs of life are inevitable, and we need to be okay with that. They are proof of our humanity. They are proof of God’s sovereignty. During the peaks of our lives, it’s okay to sing and dance and laugh! And in the troughs of our lives—in the times of deepest sadness and longing—it is most definitely okay to not be okay.
