Spiritual Formation: How to Begin
So you may be asking…
Where does one even begin to start with Spiritual Formation?
It begins with understanding that the goal of spiritual formation is not perfection or the attainment of some ideal. Wholeness takes places in the process of spiritual formation, but our goal is connect with and build a relationship with God. Spiritual Formation is journeying with Jesus and allowing him to transform those parts of us that need formation so that we can grow to become like Christ. Jesus is the only being who is truly worth being like in everything we do, but growth in spiritual formation takes place through partnership with him in the process.
We cannot attain the Christ-like life, we cannot become like Jesus by ourselves. We might grow and become better than we are currently are at the moment, but we can never attain wholeness as God created us to be without a relationship with Jesus.
We also need to understand is that drawing closer to the Lord is the process itself. We find wholeness and healing through hearing God’s voice and following Him. The spiritual disciplines and the things that we have heard about or have been taught in church over the years are not merely good ideas. We have all been encouraged to pray more, read our Bible, fast, go to church, etc. We may even assume that those things are good practices or just for Christian leaders or pastors. Yet, the purpose of those activities is that we learn how to hear the Lord voice and we grow in relationship with him. According to James 4:8, when we draw near to God, He draws near to us. He is wanting to connect and speak to us in many ways, but we have grown deaf to the ways that our soul communes with God.
Now that we have established these important ideas, here are three practical ways to get started:
Acknowledge and then bring the hurt and broken areas of our life to God and inviting Him into the messiness and the areas that are most challenging or perhaps harming us or others. Finding wholeness in spiritual formation involves inviting God into those broken areas and allowing Him to heal and transform them.
Engage in spiritual practices/disciplines that help us to address these broken and hurting areas of your life. For example, if we struggle with anger, spend time alone in solitude and silence, away from noise, and being aware of the emotions and thoughts taking place. Inviting God into that space to heal and to speak to us. If we struggle with anxiety, meditating or practicing lectio Divina on passages of scripture that deal with worry.
Grow in self-awareness and listening for God’s voice. The inner parts of our lives-our thoughts, emotions, secret struggles, our character and our will-is where the transformation takes place. We need to be aware of what is going on inside and learn to hear God’s voice as works inwards what we work outwardly (Philippians 2:12-13).
Lastly, we grow in community. Connect with others who are also growing and can speak into your life, encourage, challenge, and hold you accountable!