The First Two Steps of a Meaningful Spritual Journey

Where Do I Begin?

A healthy and truly satisfying spiritual journey begins with an attitude—a frame of mind, a new way of looking at things.  You don’t have to perform any rituals!  You don’t have to say any special words! And in fact you really don’t have to think anything in particular. The Spirit of God has drawn you to this critical point in your destiny— to a new level of awareness of his direct presence in your life.  Simply let yourself enjoy this very special moment of spiritual discovery.

Savor the moment, and not the past. As you step across this threshold to your new spiritual life, leave behind all of your understanding and impressions of religion. Savor the moment, and not the future. As you step across this threshold, you have absolutely no idea what is in store for you, so there is nothing gained by giving it a single thought.

Savor the freshness of this moment of spiritual discovery. It all seems so clean and “right.”

Savor the curious mixture of peace and excitement. It is the Spirit of God stirring within you.

It is your moment with God, and to say anything more about it risks corrupting the purity of that profoundly individual connection between the real “you” and the real God.

Then What?

The defining moment of your personal spiritual journey does not last forever. The effects of the moment will last forever, but the event, itself, inevitably comes to an end. Oh, why should such a glorious experience have to end? Because it actually marks a new beginning—the beginning of a new path for working out your destiny with new levels of wisdom, knowledge, strength, understanding, and commitment. 

Of course this is not to say you will never again have such an intimate experience with the Spirit of God. Quite the contrary. A wholesome spiritual life is characterized by an abiding nearness of God and bursts of revelation—all tailored specifically for your own personality, the character of your spiritual walk, and the destiny that stretches out ahead of you.

As that first great moment of spiritual revelation and nearness to the Spirit of God becomes history, the cares of the world and old personal habits try to crowd into your inner spiritual space once again.  This is quite normal. It happens to almost everyone. But you can take some comfort in knowing that nothing can erase the meaning and impact of your first conscious connection with God.  The cares of the world and the circumstances of your life might even crush your spiritual enthusiasm for a time, but you can always take a moment to search inside for that seed of destiny that has been planted by the Holy Spirit of God.  In spite of any appearances to the contrary, you are firmly fixed in a position to spend the rest of your life nurturing that seed and allowing to blossom into a mighty work of God.

Faith is the glue that keeps you connected to the inner witness of your spiritual destiny. Your spiritual destiny is written in indelible ink and is sustained by a personal, working relationship between you and God. However, there are times when our faith falters, and we give up our part of the working relationship with God. God doesn’t give up, though. Our faith might dim to the point that it appears nonexistent to us; but when the right occasion arises, we seek that dim light of our inner spirituality, recall our personal, one-on-one experiences with the living God, and we link up with God again. Then there is an explosion of faith that can move mountains if necessary!  Our faith is renewed, we are back on the path to spiritual enlightenment, and our lives take on fresh meaning once again.

A healthy and active spiritual life is characterized by these ups and downs—these tests of faith, these opportunities for enthralling victories and crushing defeats.  Ah! So how is this different from anyone else’s life? Two things come to might right away. First, we operate with the understanding that we are working out a destiny. In other words, our lives have meaning and purpose—and so does all the good stuff and the bad stuff that befalls us along the way. Second, we grow stronger and wiser with our spiritual and worldly experiences, and therefore we are less likely to fall into messes of our own doing.  Our spiritual perspectives and worldly wisdom eventually take us to a place where we are less concerned about the bad stuff and spend more time walking in the good.

That’s the spiritual life in a nutshell. We all fit into that very general pattern. But the similarity ends there. We are all individuals in God’s eyes. None of us look exactly the same in the flesh, and we are likewise different in the spirit.  Each one of us is a custom job, and it is important that you nurture your spiritual character. But the similarities are also important because they allow us to communicate and share experiences with one another.

God has never intended people be spiritually isolated. God seeks a community of spirits that can function as a body in its own right. Although our first wonderful experiences with God might be a very personal one, we cannot grow without the help of others who have gone before.  Just as a baby cannot survive without the help of more experienced and wiser adults, spiritual babies need help and encouragement. This is the purpose of the community of spirits.

So it is worldly wise and spiritually healthy to seek help from others who are already walking the spiritual path.  Who might this be? Where can you find them? There is no proper guidebook. It is your spiritual path, it is your destiny, it is your life. You must turn to the author of your path, your destiny, and your life for guidance. And how is this done? It’s called prayer.  God has said in the scriptures that we can cry out for wisdom and he will give it freely.  Okay, so give it a shot. Test that newly found faith—then be on the alert for an answer.  You might get an answer “in the spirit,” so to speak. That would be in the form of a clear mental impression or perhaps in a dream. Or your answer (more likely) will come in the form of worldly circumstances. One moment, there it is—the source of help you need at this time. You didn’t conjure it, and you didn’t make God so happy that he decided to act on your behalf. The answer was there all along, but you simply weren’t spiritually sensitive to it. Your prayer, your time with God, and your exercise of faith sharpened your awareness of the necessary circumstances.

You are on your way.  God bless you.