When an ice storm hit the South last month, my daughter was without power for over nine days. Thankfully she had a power bank to charge her phone so we could receive updates about water and food heated over candles, blankets hung over doors and windows to keep in the heat, and power lines down across the driveway.

After her electrical power was restored, I started thinking about the days—or weeks or months or years—when our hearts and minds might feel like we’re out of faith power. When you or I feel like the lights are dim (or out) in our relationship with God. It might have been one big event that left you shaken, stunned, or struggling. Maybe it was a general slide into malaise, melancholy, or meh.

Over 80 years ago, author C. S. Lewis wrote about this common concept, calling it a spiritual trough: “As long as he lives on earth, periods of emotional and bodily richness and liveliness will alternate with periods of numbness and poverty” (The Screwtape Letters, chapter 8). In the book, Screwtape (a demon) tries to get Wormwood (his demon nephew) to tempt humans to think the trough—the spiritual power outage—is permanent and to distract him from the trough by tempting him with sensual pleasures—food, sex, drink.

But rather than distract, let me give you some better approaches to reengage with God instead.

Put in the work. When power isn’t flowing, it requires so much energy to do the basics. It took my daughter and her roommates way over the usual time required to warm water for tea and hours to use tea lights and a Dutch oven to raise the temperature in their house by two degrees. Though the impact seemed minimal, they kept doing the work required. When you aren’t feeling spiritually warm and cozy, you still do the work because your life—and eternal life—is worth the effort. After all, you aren’t getting the power back by staying disconnected. So if you don’t “feel” it, you read your Bible anyway, go to church anyway, pray anyway. Even if your prayer is this: “God, I don’t feel as close to you as a I used to, so please help me. Give me joy.” This is a simple way of summing up Psalm 51:12: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

Accept help. When my daughter got a little too cold, she and her roommates headed to the neighbors’ house who had a generator and a fireplace. A few days later, she spent the night with friends and used their Wi-Fi to work remotely. While power outages make national news, faith outages aren’t quite as easy to spot. People close to you might notice and encourage you, but it also might take humility on your part to ask for help. So when you’re worn down, look for people who have power and warmth. They are almost always willing to be generous and share. (Or you might find out that they are struggling too, and you can support each other together.)

Look for blessings. When my daughter’s electricity was reconnected, she texted our family chat: “I can’t wait to never take electricity for granted for the next 7-10 days.” We all laughed, knowing exactly what she meant. Once you’ve been without electricity, you notice the little blessings: the way a coffee maker heats the water for you, that cold showers are not compulsory, that a flip of a switch means you can read a book after sunset.

It may take some effort, but open your eyes to look for the ways that God is faithful even when you feel flat. When you eat lunch, make a list of five blessings. Or when you take a walk, review the way God blessed you in the past. When you go to bed, thank God for keeping you safe. Or ask a friend to text you good news.

One last thought … I share these ideas, not to make you feel guilty about the spiritual troughs you face but to encourage you to stay connected, to resist the idea that how you “feel” about God changes how God feels about you. He does not love you more when you feel spiritually on fire, and he doesn’t love you less when you feel weak. He absolutely and completely loves you, whether you “feel” it or not. When you are struggling or feeling weak, he doesn’t judge you or toss you aside. Instead, he is gentle and patient and tells you, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42:3).

Need more encouragement to look for blessings? Check out Pastor Mike’s message from this week.

Linda Buxa is a writer who makes her own candles from lard and beeswax. She wouldn’t want to rely on them in a power outage.