Spiritual exercises

Have you ever wondered why God doesn't just come out and tell us what He wants for us?



Recently, I was praying about something and I really wanted to know the answer. I didn't want for God to take His time to "reveal" the answer to me. I wanted to know what direction to take so that my life would work out as God would want it. After all, I was seeking God's will....I just wanted to know what it was! Why was He making me wait?



Then it dawned on me. These moments are my spiritual exercises! O.K. it's not quite the same as the Saints would call them, but to me, I was exercising my spirit. I was stretched beyond comfort and my spiritual muscles were getting stronger. I was learning to trust God. I was learning patience and most importantly, I was learning to hear God.

In the past I have talked about praising God while you are waiting for Him to answer your prayer, now I have more of a reason to do so. Not only is He great and He is leading me blindly, but He is also strengthening me in the process. :)

Are You Ready

Are you ready for what God has in store for your life? Honestly,you probably are not ready. Because if you were, you would probably already be there. For example, I know so many people who say, "I know God is calling me to do something....but I don't know what it is!" If you are one of those people, then you are soooo lucky because God is currently giving you the time to prepare now. What you have in front of you at the moment is a preparation period where God is getting you ready for the fullness of His plan. Are you getting ready? Or are you just standing around waiting and complaining to God that your waiting?

So how do you get ready?
#1. Stop worrying and start praising God for what he is going to do in your life...whether good or challenging. (See March's blog about waiting on God).
#2. Pray that God prepares you, your mind and your heart so that you can become ready as quickly as possible, and pray the same prayer for your family...since what affects you, affects your family.
#3. Ask for humility. Nothing will impede the process more than your own pride.
#4. Ask God to remove any other obstacles that are in your way that will keep His will from occuring in your life.

Finally, many times we think these 4 steps only apply to something grand that God is going to do, or something good, but many times bad things can happen to people, ie: the terrible earth quake in Haiti. We don't understand it, but God has allowed it to happen. But what if you were in that circumstance? Would you be ready? The four steps would be the same, but they would change just a bit.

#1 Stop worrying about what is to come and start praising God about how His grace will flow through your life during that difficult time.
#2. Start praying that God will prepare the mind and hearts of your and your family.
#3. Pray for courage and understanding.
#4. Ask God to remove any obstacles that will keep His healing from occuring in your life.

We all need to be ready for what lies ahead. Especially as Christians, we are called to stand out and apart from the rest of the world. We are called to be ready to live out his grand plan and to face the greatest of challenges with Faith.

Are you ready?

Making Your Task List Manageable

With the New Year just passing, many are trying to accomplish new things. Others are just trying to accomplish something! They make task list after list only to find that the amount of work is unmanageable and just plain discouraging. Or their list does manage to get things crossed off, but there is always those one or two things that remains on the list for the entire year because they manage to keep adding new things while avoiding those one or two original things.

Why not try making the task list more manageable? Try putting only three to five things on the list at a time and do not add anything new until all three to five things are completed. Once completed, you are free to add new things.

This method does not work for all people, but it does help for those who tend to put off that "one thing" way too long.

Let Go and Let God!

Have you ever heard the phrase..."Let go and let God"? Easier said than done. How do you even know if you are holding on to something?



My answer would be anxiety! Do you find that when you pray, you are anxious? There are times when I do feel anxious. I want God to take care of the situation NOW, and I get worried that things are not going to turn out as I plan. I'm anxious! I'm holding on to my problems.



However, I find that when I'm praying and I notice that anxiety, I have to let go. I do that by transforming my anxiety to sorrow. I'm sorrowful that life is not always as I had hoped. I'm sorrowful that all my dreams have not come true. I'm sad...not depressed, just sad.



When I transform my anxiety to sorrow I know that I have given it over to God, and at that moment I can unite my sorrow with that of Jesus on the cross. And I also know that I have fully laid it at His feet. At that moment, Jesus has total control and can start to work miracles in my life. At that moment, I have Let Go and Let God!

You Are Not Stuck!!

Do you ever walk around saying to yourself..."Well, this is just the way life is"...."My job will always be like this"...."My family will never change"....."Life will always be crazy". "Woe is me!!!"



You are not stuck! God does not want you to give up hope. Remember, God is the God of hope and he has made you fully capable of handling life and moving forward, and with his grace he will help you do it. Remember the old saying, "God will never give you more than your can handle." ?



What is it that you want for your life? What vision do you have? How does your attitude block your path towards that vision? If you want to move forward in life, you must first start with yourself and make sure that your attitude isn't your primary obstacle.



Next, look at the other obstacles around you. Come up with a plan to overcome those things, and if those things around you seem too big and you are fearful or you become cynical because you feel whatever you do won't change anything, then it's time to call on the Lord. Ask for deliverance from your fear. Ask for deliverance from your cynicism. God will deliver you so you can overcome and lead the life he is calling you to.



Remember, God doesn't want you to be stuck. He doesn't even want you to feel stuck. You are His child and he wants you to continue to grow and move towards a better life.

An Idea In Mind

Have you ever come up with an idea and thought, "Somebody should do that" or "Wouldn't it be great if somebody would..." ? Have you ever thought that maybe God inspired that idea because he wants you to do it? Maybe, maybe not, but how would you know?


It's called discernment. Take the idea to prayer, not just once, but several times. Do you see God developing a passion in you about that idea? Are more ideas generated about it each time you take it to prayer? If so, pray about it some more. Ask God to open or close some doors for you about it. If you see doors opening and a passion developing, start taking some action towards the vision you have developed. Then, with regards to your action, see if doors continue to open or slam shut.


Too many times when people are searching for an answer from God, they want the answer too quickly or they want a sign before they start. I think God doesn't give us those things because he wants to develop our faith in the process as we are waiting. This way, we learn to listen, and as we take action, we grow in faith. You see, it's about the journey towards the idea as much as the idea itself. It's not just about helping others with your idea, but it's about your growth in the process and God knows that. So, he takes his time.

Why Not Me

Do you ever listen to speakers on the radio or TV and notice that they always have these miraculous stories about how God intervened in their life? Or how they were talking with some stranger and the outcome of the conversation made it clear that God was working in an amazing way? I was thinking about that the other day, and I thought, "Why not me? How come I never seem to have any amazing stories like that to share?"

My first thought was "well, I must not be one of the "chosen" ones of God." You know, those who have been blessed with all sorts of spiritual gifts...no wonder they have all these great stories, the spirit is constantly moving through all those gifts. But then, I thought again. That's it! The Spirit is constantly moving! Not because they have all these gifts, but rather because they have faith that the spirit will move and because of that, they have courage to always speak out. God's work is evident on a regular basis in so many of their circumstances because they merely believe. Then they step back and say, "God do your work, I'm just coming along for the ride. Show me what you want me to do. I'll be your assistant, when you want my help."

Too many people walk through life with the attitude that they are in control. Then when something bad happens, they are constantly doing the work and asking God to be the assistant. Remember those bumper stickers that say, "God is my co-pilot?" Why not make Him the pilot? My challenge to you this week is to try to let God do the work and you be the assistant. After a week, let me know if you have any new good stories where you saw God moving, and please post them to the blog! Thank you.