Sometimes we can have a very difficult time answering this question. It's usually we haven't really spent any time with Him lately, or because we don't even acknowledge God in our lives.
It's absolutely amazing what 10 minutes of reflection and prayer can do for the soul. Now days things are too fast. Sometimes we just need to take time to slow things down a little and just clear our minds. It's hard to hear someone whispering when everything is loud and crazy. Find that secret, quiet place where you can be alone with God. Meeting with God produces a wonderful joy and a calm peace. It's like a breath taking sunset. Stop to receive the warmth of His love.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." -Matt 11:28-30
Sanctification & Desires
Sometimes we go through seasons we're we really don't grow much. Sometimes we get stuck in a pit and just fell stagnant. Sometimes we just hit a wall where we become paralyzed and idle.
In this world there are too many distractions. It's so easy to lose our focus and take our eyes off of Christ. It's so easy to put our trust in things, people and ourselves. Sometimes it helps to stop and look at what we worship. What do we idolize before God? What is competing for our heart?
It's strange how easily we can forget our first love. It's strange how we can trade a blessing from God for something worthless. Our minds have become so vulnerable to the ways of this world.
We seek for something to satisfy. We are constantly craving for pleasure. We thirst for something to fill. We intensely desire something to satisfy our often empty soul.
C.S. Lewis on Christian Hedonism
| If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. |
That's it! The enemy of worship is not that our desire for pleasure is too strong but too weak! We have settled for a home, a family, a few friends, a job, a television, a m microwave oven, an occasional night out, a yearly vacation, and perhaps a new personal computer. We have accustomed ourselves to such meager, short-lived pleasures that our capacity for joy has shriveled. And so our worship has shriveled. Many can scarcely imagine what is meant by "a holiday at the sea"-worshiping the living God!
Why settle for a mud pile when God has a beautiful ocean for us. Perhaps it's because we can't see it. Perhaps because it is inconceivable that something better actually exist. The greatest buzz and pleasure one could ever get is only found in the delight of God. Taste and See.
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." -John 4:13-15
Many Christians focus on the Ideals of what a Christian should look like. And instead admitting our reality we often mask our struggles. This is known as the Sanctification Gap. 5 common responses to this include,
1) Pretense- Pretending that we're all good, hiding our sin. We fear the reaction of being honest with another.
2) Despair - We get so frustrated because we never feel like we can do or be enough. We get discouraged when we can't accomplish our goals, or make any progress. The ideal of a Christian asks too much of us, so we lower the bar. We beat ourselves up with an unhealthy guilt.
3) Programmatic and Personal Solutions - We figure, "i'll just do this." We attempt to fix the problem with formulas instead of coming to God.
4) Moral Formation - This is the "Do it yourself" method. We rely on self-help, our own efforts, sheer will power, self disciplines, and try so hard that we often get burnt out from our constant failures. We ice out the dependence of the Holy Spirit.
5) Ministry Activism - We make ministry an idol. We try to stay busy with working to distract ourselves and avoid the gap of our lack of spiritual growth.
I know I often talk about Sanctification, but I think it's because there is a lack of emphasis of it. Sanctification is just a fancy way of saying "growing in the likeness of Christ, dying to our sins, and growing closer to God." In order to change our behaviors, attitudes, and actions we must first desire to do so. We must change our desires to become better. The more we can decrease the more He increases in us.
Ask yourself, "What do I truly desire most?" It's often what you think about most. What we desire most, we often spend the most time doing. When we can desire God, it becomes so much easier to grow and to actually want to know Him more intimately. We must conform our desires to God's desires. Imagine if all your values and desires we're that of God's. What if you hated what God hated, and loved what God loves. What if you syncronized your heartbeat with God's? What would your life look like? I believe this is the start of transforming our lives into the likeness of His righteousness.
Who do we seek to please? Count how many times in a day we seek to impress or attract the appreciation or approval of others. What are you motivated by? What do you want more than anything else? What do you live for? What would you die for? Our deepest desires are reflected in our thoughts and actions.
For us to grow, God gives us trials. He never gives us more than we can handle. For instance, He doesn't give a 1st grader a calculus problem. We start off with addition, subtraction and work our way to the next level until we can handle more. The greatest treasure and joy is worth suffering for.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." -James 1:2-5
If you want to get better, you must increase the level of difficulty. I'm comparing spiritual growth to physical growth. If you want to get stronger, you can't just stick to doing the same 10 pound dumbells. You could start by doing different exercises, more repetitions of it, or increasing the weight. But often times we perfer to stay in our comfort zones than face any training. Olympic athletites are dedicated, passionate, and desperate for achiving their goal, all so that they can attain that first gold medal prize.
"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."
If we arn't growing spiritually, its probably because we arn't trying to. You are as close to God as you want to be. If you truly desire to be closer to God, i'm sure you'd try to spend more time with Him. We have a active and passive role in allowing God to work in us. We have a responsibility and role in seeking Him.
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