Where are you in your Spiritual Journey?

Where are you in your Spiritual Journey?

Eileen Renders

We travel this road called Life, and discover the many paths that we can choose. With our free will, we make those choices. The road of Life is often bumpy and full of ups and downs. However, we are tempted to choose a path that intrigues us as it looks tempting, and promises us an easy road. However, things are not always what they appear to be. Our tempter, the Father of Lies, Satan, is always trying to lead us away, away from God with false promises.

Realizing that God gave us free will to choose His will over Satan’s temptations, how would God judge us according to the choices we have made? As we explore and discover where we are spiritually, our perspective should always consider how our choices affect all concerned. When we have nurtured our relationship with Christ through daily prayer and meditation, we will begin to ask ourselves this question: “

What would God do? How would He decide? The choices God wants us to make are to follow Him. God is all-loving and merciful. And we never know how long we will remain on Earth to begin to grow spiritually, life is terminal, and none of us knows the day or the hour.

There is no permanence here on Earth, no focus is necessary on money, celebrity, or other earthly delights. Growing spiritually is not unlike growing in many aspects. We evaluate our options, the potential results of our chosen actions, and we make an intelligent decision based on how we believe God wants us to live. And when we live our lives in this manner, we do not run from the crosses we must bear; we accept our cross and unite our suffering with Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for us because of His deep love and caring. Pray for the courage and strength to bear what comes our way, and to go forward.

God will inspire us. Often, I have heard people ask of me, “Why are you evangelizing?” I am a wife and mother, and do not stand in a pulpit, nor have I taken any vows. Yet, God asks that we all go out and help to inspire, and bring God to one another.

We have learned much about Jesus while He was on Earth. We saw how He carried His cross for us, His suffering, His despair, yet He did so out of love. In our spiritual maturity, we often grow in spurts. Understanding that our time on earth may be short, and focusing on making choices on earth based on how it works best for us in wise, however, when those choices are always founded on “us”, and not compatible with what is best for us according to God’s will for us, and our family’s needs, he needs of others, we may be acting selfishly.

When we concern ourselves primarily with our needs, and always choose what is best for us, we may neglect to respect and love others or side-step anything that might be uncomfortable for us to bear. Thus, avoiding the idea of having a cross to carry.

How can we then run to God to remove our cross when we avoided placing Him first in our lives?