In the book, 10 Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, Donald Whitney includes a chapter about the importance of spiritual disciplines. He concludes, and rightly so, that the disciplines are not intended to be marks of maturity, instead they are to be the means to maturity. Too often we are in such a fast-paced, microwave, consumer driven, and process driven culture that we fail to enjoy the relational engagement that is part of life.
Whitney emphasizes that the spiritual disciplines that lead to maturity are a combination of personal and corporate pursuits. In order to experience God and experience transformation into Christlikeness, they must be engaged at each level. What must we do in the practice of the spiritual disciplines?
We must devote ourselves more to the pursuit of Christlikeness and the enjoyment of God through the spiritual disciplines than to the pursuit of efficiency and the completion of to-do lists. For instance, it is not going to be effective to read the Scriptures daily and have them impact or transform you no more than reading any other book or periodical. The effectiveness of the Scriptures is found when the truth is applied and transforms one’s life.
We must also resist the temptation to believe in a microwave spirituality or any shortcuts to Christlikeness and maturity. R.C. Sproul emphasized, “There are no quick and easy paths to spiritual maturity. The soul that seeks a deeper level of maturity must be prepared for a long, arduous task. If we are to seek the kingdom of God, we must abandon andy formulae, that promise instant spiritual gratification.”
Finally, Whitney encourages the believer to stoke their spiritual life with at least one perceptible stoke. If you have ever stoked a well wooded fire with a good coal base, you know how easily the fire begins to engulf the wood and produce the desired warming and glowing effect desired. The Holy Spirit provides the same “base” for the life of the believer. An intentional stirring can produce a remarkable effect in the life of the believer. However, too often there are imperceptible and inefficient efforts made to respond to the Holy Spirit. Instead there are timid and half-hearted efforts made in imperceptible ways with little or no consistency that leave the believer unchanged.
In 1 Timothy 4:7 Paul encourages young Timothy to discipline himself for the purpose of godliness. This week, what is the one area that needs to be stoked in your life? Is it genuine Bible study (including meditation), worship, prayer, fasting, solitude, spiritual journaling? Fore every Christian we should pursue a stronger level of discipline to foster the environment for God’s continuing work in our lives. In what way will that happen for you this week?