Going Forward

Going forward in our spiritual journey is not as simple as doing what we perceive to be the right things. Our spiritual journey is about going with God to wherever it is that He is choosing to lead us.  His leading does not necessarily mean a leading that takes us to a different geographical location or some unusual ministry situation. Where God is leading us may not be about the grandiose, but the ordinary; however, it is still His leading.  Our submission to that leading and our willingness to surrender our role as captain of the ship is the most important thing we can do to go forward with God.   

What we are often tempted to do in those moments of sensing a need for a different and deeper walk with God is to bulk up on our Bible reading, or to pray with greater fervor.  We might even think that some new spiritual best seller is the way forward, but the way forward is more likely to be in the being than in the doing.  There are times when the first step is to seek the Spirit, or perhaps, more appropriately, to wait on the Spirit.  We tend to live our lives in a rush.  We set a goal and then we hurry to get it accomplished.  

What is lost in our hurried pursuit of a stronger spiritual life is the journey.  The destination, or goal gets so in view that we cannot experience what God is doing in our life as He moves in our heart so that we can see the new things He wants to do in us.  We may think that reading ten chapters from the Bible is better than five as we pursue a deeper spiritual life when the real steps forward are taken as we sit still, quietly wait, and learn to listen in our inner being for the voice of God.