The Law of Undulation [ an essay concerning it]

...this may be a little lengthy, but it's an essay i wrote on the Law of Undulation...may be interesting if it suits your style...basically so that you wont be confused the whole time that you're reading, the Law of Undulation is the promise of life that there WILL be ups and downs...this essay discusses what God and Satan think about it and how we should react during these times...by the way: [trough=valley]

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“Has no one ever told you about the law of Undulation?” It is “the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks.” I have undoubtedly become very familiar with this law of undulation. I thought it might be a problem that only I had, but since reading this book, I now understand that all man is subject to this law as well. I go through cycles of high’s and low’s all the time. Mr. Lewis explains the law as well as anyone can in the 8th chapter of this marvelous book[Screwtape Letters]. In the next few paragraphs, I will elaborate on the key points that Clive points out about the mysterious, yet very real, law of Undulation.

Screwtape begins his discourse on the law by explaining to his young disciple that he has no reason to be joyful over the “trough” that his patient is currently enduring. He points out that “the Enemy” [God] takes the opportunity during these ‘low’ times in men’s lives to gain permanent possession of a soul. He states that some of “His special favorites” have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else. This trough in man’s life where God steps back for a moment and disables(in a sense) the soul’s sensitivity to His presence, serves God’s purpose in allowing man to decide whether or not they will obey Him. If God were to allow man to remain on the ‘peaks’ of spirituality at all times, then it will be contrary to His nature in that His presence would override a man’s will therefore breaking the law of free will. ‘He cannot ravish, He can only woo”. These troughs in our spiritual lives where God “withdraws” are not meant to destroy us, but rather to get us walking on our own two feet- “to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. “It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature he wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best. And if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles. (This next line in the paragraph is one of the greatest that I’ve ever read)- ‘Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring , but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.” But like in every good thing under the heavens, Satan tries to pervert it to His pleasure, seeking to exploit the misuse of the God-given experience for His( Satan‘s) own profit. In the next paragraph, I will attempt to summarize the revealing of Satan’s objectives which Lewis so beautifully discerned.

I learned in prayer one night that the Enemy(of God and of my soul) understands fully that he is unable to kill a Christian ( at least not without permission), and because he understands this, His aim is to try to restrict the Christian as much as He possibly can. One of the ways He tries to limit the Christian is by exploiting them through the law of undulation. He doesn’t just try to exploit the trough periods , but also the peak periods of life. In the trough period, Satan tries to limit the Christian (especially the new one) through the lust of the flesh. Every man alive understands this test of the flesh during the weak moments in our lives. We are more vulnerable in these times, and the enemy takes no rest to make sure that our will is conformed until His. “To get the man’s soul and give him nothing in return- that is what gladdens [Satan’s heart]. To try to exploit these trough periods, Screwtape tries to make sure that [the patient] has no knowledge of the law of undulation. Screwtape understands that a man is more likely to triumph over the temptations during the “trough’ periods if he understands that he is justg going through a period, and that if he overcomes the temptations of the flesh in these period, the light at the end of the tunnel will be revealed and his “walk’ stronger still. But like I said, Satan does not only try to exploit the trough periods, but he also tries to win the man’s soul even in the peak times of his life. The way he does this is by perverting the God-given pleasures of the ‘peaks’ . Screwtape writes: “He [God] made the pleasures…all we can do is to encourage humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden.

So in summary, the law of undulation is permanent in humanity as long as were in time [there is coming a Day in which all of humanity will step out of time into eternity] and it cannot be run away from. Now that we understand this, we must take into consideration these two things; that God uses these trough periods in our lives to further strengthen us and to restore us to His image [through temporary withdrawal] , also that Satan attempts to destroy us during these times by the lust of the flesh and the weakening of the mind. Do not be deceived, there is one that seeks to destroy you, his name is satan and he has been known to steal many a soul through the law of undulation, but don’t fear, for this law will only strengthen us if were obey God, if we feel Him or not, in the peaks and the lows.

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[not in essay]= my advice to all- now that we have this knowledge of the law of Undulation, the next time that you're feeling that you're in a "trough", get away from solitude and run to companionship...run around, do something, but dont be idle! and always remember the law to overcoming temptation " if idle, do not be alone...if alone, do not be idle" ...