Spend time planning for Spiritual enrichment.
One more big travel summer month and just like the rest of the areas of our lives need a recharge, our Spiritual area needs one too. What better time to focus on creating a new lifestyle decision, then when taking time to pause from the hustle and bustle of work, school, and everything else? Jesus often went off to pray alone, for He knew and recognized where His help came from. Even when Jesus knew he was about to start His final journey, He still went off to pray. We should mimic this same habit, consistency, discipline, and routine of going off to pray, and spending time with God to sit and be quiet with God. In an addendum to Pause Planning, Spiritual Planning is an amazing way to focus on being intentional about the Spiritual direction you want to go.
Want to have greater discernment? Read God’s Word, spend time in prayer and seek God on how you can be more aligned with His will. The Bible lets us know that hiding scripture in your heart is one way to keep you from sinning against God. However, hiding scripture in your heart and making it part of who you are also allows us to know sooner, rather than later the thing to do that is aligned with God’s will for your life. This isn’t always as obvious as it sounds. Sure, if you are talking about killing someone or letting them live, it is pretty obvious the Godly answer. However, if money is not a factor in the decision, and you are deciding whether you should go to a 4-year University or take an Online program, discernment would be helpful. If you are considering buying a house, being aligned with God’s will is also very important.
For example, I was in position to buy a house, had gone out browsing, contacted my realtor, and been approved for the loan; all I had left to do was choose my next house. However, I kept feeling a nudging from God to ‘stand still.’ While I didn’t understand it, I was obedient, and, a few months later, I found out I was being laid off from my job.
I am sure you have had similar situations in your life where you weren’t sure why you couldn’t commit to a decision and then a short time later, the reason became clear? This is God’s precious Holy Spirit nudging you, warning you, guiding you to be in alignment with His will. It is challenging to remain aligned with someone you don’t have a relationship with, don’t spend time with, or don’t take time to get to understand. Spend time with God, then watch how the results will benefit you!
Want to have a more positive outlook? Release yourself of the “Control” needs that exist, and intentionally stop trying to guide various situations to the outcome you deem is correct, even those situations that really are not directly affecting you. It is not your role to save the world, but to encourage others to grow and learn, even if that means they have some valley experiences. For it is in the valley, that strength is gained, and you begin to walk into who God is shaping you to be. When you try to control the outcomes, you become frustrated when they don’t go the way you think they should. You become agitated when that thing you needed to happen by that designated time did not happen, so you went another way, only for that thing you were waiting to happen, come through at the last minute. None of us like that final hour breakthrough, but it is those final hour breakthroughs that have helped to grow and strengthen faith, and keep a positive outlook, even when it looks dark and dim. Those are the times when you know your perspective has changed and it has changed as a result of your faith. When you can look a bleak situation in the eyes and determine, if this is my last chance, or if God graces me with more to come, either way, I am content. That is faith and optimism at it’s finest.
Be intentional about your Spiritual journey and seek God on how He wants to navigate you
Reading God’s word, journaling those points that stand out from His word
Journaling your prayers
Spending time praying
Fasting for greater insight
Attending church to “assemble yourselves with your brothers and sisters”
Sharing God’s word and his goodness in your life
These are just some of the ways you can be more intentional about your Spiritual journey. Try these and others, and let us know how you will enrich your Spiritual journey to be more profitable in the days to come.
In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. ~Luke 6:12 (ESV)