Everyday Christianity: Spiritual Life (4)
…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus… Hebrews 12.1, 2
Number our days
Spiritual life is life in Jesus Christ, our risen and reigning Savior and King. We are in Him and He is in us, and we are learning to desire Him and deny whatever keeps us from depending solely on Him for full and abundant life.
But as Jesus Himself told us, following Him is not an easy road (Jn. 16.33). And Paul said we must through many afflictions enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 17.22). We have discussed the role of affliction and trials of various sorts, how the Lord can use these to grow us in living every day for Him. Here we will take a closer look at how a disciplined approach to life can help us make the most of all our time for God and His glory.
We can gain endurance for our race by focusing on our vision of Christ, exalted in glory, and seeing our daily lives as a journey—or race—to be with Him (1 Jn. 3.1-3). This entails seeking the Lord for each day’s activities, that He might be glorified and we might know more of His beauty (Ps. 90.16, 17).
Moses prayed, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90.12). This is what we also must do: determine each day the best course and best practices to help realize more of the Presence, promise, and power of God.
Here our dependence on the Lord takes the shape of daily disciplines, by which we refract to the world that we are Jesus’ disciples.
The disciplines of life
In determining the best course for daily living the spiritual life, we discipline the time and activities of our lives according to the priorities and in the power of our risen King. What disciplines does this involve?
First, of course, are the spiritual disciplines God has provided to help us keep a proper focus and draw on the resources of Christ to sustain us in the life of faith. These include prayer, reading and meditating in Scripture, worship, fellowship with other believers, fasting and singing, and so forth. Each of us needs to determine a proper regimen of spiritual disciplines, one that will help to ensure that we make steady progress in the race God has set before us.
Second, we want to consider what we can do each day to love our neighbors—the people we encounter in all the places of our lives. We want to make the most of every opportunity to share our faith in Christ with them, whether by deeds or words. The more we can prayerfully identify specific actions and practices for loving our neighbors, the more likely we will be to fulfill our calling as agents of grace to our world.
Then there are disciplines related to the work God has given us to do. Whatever our work in the Lord’s Kingdom, it must be characterized by excellence, thoroughness, diligence, efficiency, and fruitfulness. Our work is not merely a “job.” The work we’ve been given to do is greater than the “job” at which we work, and all our work requires that we master the disciplines essential to glorifying God in this arena. Work is a primary outworking of our spiritual lives; and the more spiritual life we bring to our work, the more our work will glorify God and satisfy our sense of a job well done.
We must also master the disciplines of living together in the Body of Christ. Here it is above all crucial that each believer discover, develop, and deploy their spiritual gifts for the edification of the entire community. Building the local church is a spiritual activity in which we seek to grow together to be more like Jesus as a congregation (Eph. 4.11-16). And each of us, having something to contribute to this, must make the most of every opportunity to do so.
Last, we must master the disciplines that enable us to grow through temptations, trials, setbacks, failings, and the like. We have perhaps said enough about these already, how the Lord tests us every moment to encourage us to grow in the grace of the Lord, and how we can prepare for these so that we pass His tests as they come.
Keep on growing
Such disciplines strengthen our soul—mind, heart, and conscience. They are vital aspects of spiritual life and can help us grow in the Lord, improve our walk with Him, and help us bear fruit for His glory. We can always improve our use of all the disciplines of spiritual life, and we must determine, day by day, that we will focus on Jesus and work to bring each area of our lives into line with Him.
It’s good for us always to keep in mind our destination in life—where we are heading, what the landmarks are that will indicate progress, and where we need to grow and improve in seeking the Lord’s help to run our race with endurance. This again is a matter of prayer, of seeking the wisdom of God and the counsel of others, and of trying new directions, practicing good disciplines, and striving for new heights of growth and fruitfulness in the Lord.
The more determined we are in each of these areas, the stronger will be our dependence on the Lord and the more fruitful will be our spiritual life in Him.
For reflection or discussion
1. How would you describe your particular “race” for the Lord? What does it involve?
2. Would you say that you lead a disciplined life? Explain.
3. How might you improve your daily disciplines to seek more of God’s glory in everything you do?
Next steps—Transformation: In what ways would you like to see more of Jesus in your life? What is one discipline that you could adopt or improve to begin improving in this area?
T. M. Moore
Men, check out the fall schedule of reading and study groups. You can register now by going here.
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
A spiritual life is a disciplined life in every facet. How does this work out? Our book, A Disciplined Life, can help you review and improve your own disciplines toward a more robust walk with and work for the Lord. For a free PDF of The Disciplined Life, click here.
Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast wraps up excerpts from the book, Patrick: A
Devotional History. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival.. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
