Spiritual Health Check
I made an unwelcome discovery when looking some holiday photos. My face had altered; I’d put on weight. The snapshot highlighted the weight gain in a way that the mirror had not, so I upped my exercise in the hope of getting back to normal a.s.a.p.
If only the signs that our spiritual wellbeing were as speedily acted upon. No-one aims to be spiritually unfit, yet we can easily fall into such a condition. Sometimes we can feel like we are all leaf but no fruit. Our lives may be marked by lots of different activities; yet we are not at peace with ourselves. We are not ‘depressed’ yet neither full of the joys of Spring either!
How to find new life in the New Year:
Jesus said ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’, (Matthew 11v28).
How do we come near to the Lord when we are burdened? We can do this by sharing with the Lord in prayer how we are really feeling, (so that we are in His healing presence as we speak). Naming the burdens is helpful to do, for example ‘Lord my isolation is a burden to me, please lead me to activities and people who will help me forwards’.
Talking with those who discern God’s work in our lives is also a great help. It is good to find those who are as Barnabus was to Paul, these may be old friends and/ or new. In fact the Lord may lead us to widen or renew our circle of Christian contacts, as a source of fresh air in our spiritual lives.
Second, Jesus calls us to take His yoke (His work that He wants us to share in). The Lord’s work for us, (His yoke), fits well and is possible through His leading. So in the responsibilities and routines we have already we look to the Lord for a new approach, (we can ask God ‘what grace do I need for this task? (e.g.patience, joy, attention to detail). I met an 100 year old Christian recently, she shared that people don’t often have time for others in the same way today, because of busy-ness. Can we give more focused attention to others through our days by God’s grace?
In the UK we do not have the weather for being a Tornado Chaser. However as Christians we are to be flame-chasers, we are to note where we see God’s Spirit moving and to put energy to place ourselves where God is working. So let’s use our eyes keenly; is the Lord bringing new people into our fellowships who are from similar backgrounds? Is there someone in plain sight that needs deeper interest to be shown in them? Is the Lord quickening our spirits as we meet with particular Christians and speak with them? Let’s take a helicopter view, ‘Where have I seen His work and am I chasing in the right direction?’
Losing weight and getting fitter take time and having a plan of action does help with staying on track. When faced with many aspects of our lives that need reinvigorating spiritually, we can wonder where to start. Let’s ask the Lord to order our plan of action, which one of my responsibilities should I approach differently first? Don’t be stressed about choosing one, just be still and trust you will sense quietly but deeply where to start. And a final thought from the Scriptures; the right path, will continue to get even brighter as learn to seek God in all things, (Proverbs 4v18).
For the path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn shining ever brighter to full light of day’. (Proverbs 4v18)
Adeline Warburton
Postscript
**Further examples for youth workers
As a youth leader you may like to pray:
‘What does the Lord want for these young people?’ From this prayer and quietness we are able to realise/ sense what is really needed at this time for the young people. We may realise the young people need guidance on recognising God’s leading in their lives, or that they need a social event, e.g. pizza night, or they need to put on an event themselves.
So, for person leading a church group once we have sensed from the Lord which scriptural point/Christian life principle is relevant to our situation, our role becomes how to communicate it. This will unleash our creative side as there may be many ways to communicate the point in mind, e.g. artistically, in discussion or with a task set to practically apply the teaching.
Bibliography:
All Scripture quotations in this website are taken from the Holy Bible,
New International Version
Copyright 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society used by permission of Hodder an Stoughton a division of Hodder Headline Ltd. All rights reserved. “NIV” is a registered trademark of Internal Bible Society UK trademark number 1448790
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