I recently
finished an excellent 26 week class on the spiritual disciplines. We used Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
by Donald Whitney as our textbook, which I would highly recommend. We learned
about Bible intake, Scripture memory, prayer, journaling, fasting, worship,
serving, stewardship, silence & solitude, evangelism, discipleship,
learning and perseverance. In most cases, we spent at least one week learning
about the discipline and then another week practicing it. I would say that for
the most part, I stepped out of my comfort zone, did my homework and learned a
lot.
However, if I’m
being completely honest with myself, my practice of the spiritual disciplines
has not really improved all that much and I’ve been wrestling with why that is.
My answer may shock you. Are you ready? I don’t love God enough. Yes, you read
that right. It’s true. If I really loved Him, I would want to spend time with
Him. I would long to spend time with Him. Instead, I am unfaithful. I spend plenty
of time watching TV and playing on Facebook and reading books, but I am not
spending time with my God. And I wonder why I’m struggling with practicing the
spiritual disciplines? I have the knowledge. I know what the spiritual
disciplines are and how to practice them. I just don’t do it.
Ironically, the
one thing I need in order to cultivate a greater love for God is…to practice the
spiritual disciplines! It is through Bible intake that I get to know my God
better. It is through prayer that I communicate with Him. It’s through worship
that I learn to take my focus off myself and put it on God where it belongs. The
disciplines are a little like dating. The more I spend time on them, the more I
fall in love with my Savior. And the more I love my Savior, the more I want to
practice the spiritual disciplines!
It’s a dance. When
you dance with a partner, you generally dance in a circle and one step leads
into another. I take God’s hand and He leads me into a gentle waltz or maybe a
lively two-step. Sometimes, it’s a tempestuous tango. I dance, but fight Him
all the way. I fight Him because I’m too lazy or too distracted by other
partners. Sometimes I just dance alone. I even think I look fantastic doing
it…only to realize that while I’m showing off, Jesus is quietly standing there
in the middle of the floor patiently waiting for me to come back to Him.
So, what should
I do? I can continue showing off only to find myself exhausted; I can choose to
sit at the table, stubbornly refusing to dance (which will probably only prove
that I was never the right partner for Jesus in the first place); I can choose
to dance a tango and fight him all the way (gee, that sounds like fun); or I
can take His offered hand and let Him lead and see where He takes me. Hmm…it’s
not that hard to see which one of those is the best choice, is it?
It comes down to
this: when my desire to grow in Christ becomes greater than my desire to be
entertained, I will grow in my walk with Him and our dance will be beautiful
and freeing. Until then, I may be entertained, but I will also find myself
exhausted, empty, weighed down and alone when the music ends. Freedom sounds a
whole lot better than that.
Do you hear the
Savior calling, “May I have this dance?”
Copyright ©2012 by Cherry Lyn Hoffner. You may not reproduce this post
in any form without permission. However, linking to this post is encouraged.
Cherry, I've been struggling with this too. Our husbands wouldn't feel very loved if we spent our time with them checking facebook on our phones, or reading while they tell us about their days... I think everyone agrees that communication is THE key to a happy relationship. How can our relationship with God be a happy one if we don't communicate?
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be something that keeps hitting me in the face. This morning I was reading in Exodus to prepare for teaching this Sunday. Chapter 33, verse 13 says "Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight..."
Moses was talking with the Lord in the tent of meeting and interceding for those stiff-necked Israelites. He seems to love God so much that his only wish for himself is to see more of God so that he can please him even more! I so want that to be my prayer. I am no different than one of those stiff-necked Israelites. I want to be Moses!
I think the best part about being in a relationship with God is that He just never lets go. The ocean that is His love is simply endless. I John 4:10 gets to the bottom of it - "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us." He always loves us first and best.
ReplyDeleteCase in point: After I finished writing this post, I prayed, "God, teach me how to love you better." What do you suppose was the subject of staff chapel the very next morning? God's love. I'm not kidding. It was all I could do to hold it together knowing that my God began to answer my prayer the very next day. He loves me with such a pure, unfailing love despite my constant unfaithfulness and selfishness that it just slays me to the core sometimes. The words to a hymn come to mind:
"How deep the Father's love for us/How vast beyond all measure/That He should give His only Son/To make a wretch His treasure." What a word picture that is! God gave the life of His only Son to make a prostitute His wife. Wow. If that doesn't inspire me to spend time with Him, what will?
"Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer!"
ReplyDelete