It's amazing how much of a conscious effort we must make in our relationship with Christ sometimes. My experience has been to rely on Him so hardcore in the hard times that it's tough to imagine how anyone could survive a day without Him; then life hits these plateau times where it's like, "God? Oh yeah, Him. The guy I used to know."
Coming out of a tough period where I've drawn close to God out of necessity for my strength, hope, and joy, I've often sailed smoothly along on the sense those gifts have given me, and forget to actually spend more time with the Giver. Then those gifts slowly fade and I find myself in a spiritual panic, flailing blindly all around me in desperation. Even when good things are happening, there's no real joy or peace when I've fallen out of true communication with God.
Sometimes I get so caught up in my non-challenging communication with God that I forget what it's like to actually be close to Him and depend on Him. I have to remember that neglecting that relationship is an open invitation for walls to build up subtley and quickly, and taking them down can be a long, painful process.
But for all the work and frustration our spiritual life can bring sometimes, there's always this hope that I recently heard given at a children's lesson in church: giving yourself to God is a life-long process. There's not this one, single moment where everything is suddenly better. That happens when we die. Until then, God's strength is made perfect in our weakness and He "...is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love." He is so good!