We can sometimes fail to distinguish between apathy toward God and apathy toward things associated with God. For example, a person may feel unmotivated to participate in worship or Bible study, and may incorrectly conclude that she no longer has a heart for God. This is like saying a person who no longer enjoys sushi has abandoned all desire for food. We fall into such fallacies because we assume God is only accessible through certain activities—things our traditions have labeled “spiritual.” Very often these activities are rich and transformative, but we must remember that they are merely vehicles for communing with God—they are not God himself. In a certain season, if these “spiritual” practices do not help you connect with the Lord, if you find no joy in them over time, wisdom says to seek him a different way.

Rather than feeling guilty for not engaging practices you do not like, be honest about what you already desire, where you already find joy and invite God to meet you there. In this season, if you do not desire prayer or Scripture, perhaps you still desire music, nature, solitude, or even rolling sushi. Engage these life-giving things with an awareness of God’s presence with you. Speak to him in the pleasure of listening to music or hiking. Start a recipe with a prayer, and give him thanks as you enjoy the meal. These ordinary activities can become filled with sacred value, even as the activities your traditions says are sacred feel painfully ordinary.

Eric Liddell, the missionary and Olympian depicted in the film Chariots of Fire, famously said, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast! And when I run I feel his pleasure.” Where do you feel God’s pleasure? That may be the place where he is waiting to meet you.