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Jun 26, 2022 08:00am

Achieving Spiritual Success

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Over the course of a lifetime spent observing people, I have learned that there are generally patterns of behavior that are predictive of certain outcomes. And it happens in all areas of life.

If a student doesn’t study, his or her grades are pretty predictable. If we do not take care of our bodies, the quality of our later years is generally not what we would like. If we fail to give our minds times of rest and recuperation, we most often pay a price at some point.

Patterns of work behavior impact our career success. Patterns of financial behavior will inevitably impact our financial security. And the list goes on and on.

It is rarely a one-time catastrophic event that creates our biggest problems. It is the pattern of behavior that led up to that event that does us in.

Likewise, it is highly unusual for anyone to be an overnight success. Almost always, there is a pattern of behavior that over time set the stage for that success.

But what about our spiritual lives? Does a pattern of behavior foretell our spiritual success?

SPIRITUAL SUCCESS

Well, to be clear, it is not our behavior that creates our eternal salvation. Salvation does, or at least should, impact our patterns of behavior. But it is only the grace available from God that generates salvation. This is His deal to grant, not ours to earn. And it has already been granted by the death of Jesus on the cross years ago. The grace is already there. But it takes our belief and faith in that death and its promise to activate that grace in our lives.

So if you measure spiritual success only by whether you squeak through the gates of heaven, then it is not behavior based. It is purely grace activated by faith that assures that success. And I encourage you to be certain that John 3:16 applies to you personally above all else.

There is no spiritual success of any kind without the acceptance by faith of Jesus into our lives. Period.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

But what if you believe that spiritual success is actually a bit more? What if you want the kind of spiritual success that impacts and improves this present-day life? What if “on earth as it is in heaven” actually is a desire of yours?

Then that will take a pattern of behavior.

In my own life, I have found one particular pattern of behavior that enhances my spiritual life. Unfortunately, I often deviate from that pattern even though the outcome of that is predictable.

I would like to share my story in that regard in hopes that it might be of help to some of you.

A PERSONAL EXAMPLE

Each January, my church participates in a 21-day effort called “Withhold to Behold”. Its purpose is for each of us to change our pattern of behavior for those three weeks by withholding something from our life and substituting an intentional laser focus on Jesus in its place.

Despite my groaning and eye rolling every year when it is announced, over the last two years I have given up my evening routine during that time and devoted two hours each night to intentional, focused time with Jesus. I really zone out for two hours and talk to and visualize Him. And more importantly, I listen for Him to speak into my mind and spirit. Sometimes it involves Bible reading and sometimes it does not. Sometimes I become so focused on Him and so divorced from the world for that two hours that it is almost like being in a trance.

Not every one of those nights turns super spiritual. But enough of them do to make me take notice that spending dedicated and extended time with Jesus makes a dramatic difference in my life. In simple terms, when I spend “slow cooker” time with God instead of “microwaving” my time with Him, amazing things happen.

Each of these last two Januarys, I have spent the month feeling so close and connected to God that I was on a spiritual high the entire time. In those times, God revealed things to me in miraculous ways. My life and mission became more intimately aligned with His will. I found clarity and purpose that I don’t have every day. And most importantly, I clearly heard Him speak and saw Him work in my life in supernatural ways.

But that was January. What about the months since then?

Average.

Despite the experience of those intimate encounters with God, the euphoria of those weeks faded. My intentional and planned extended time with God returned to normal. And I questioned God as to why He was so inconsistent with me.

And He answered.

A PERSONAL REVELATION

Certainly, it was not an out loud verbal answer. But it might as well have been. In fact, it was so clear and strong that I took out my phone and recorded it in my notes right on the spot.

His response was “We’ve had this discussion before. I am not the problem”.

Indeed, we have had that discussion before. And indeed, He is not the problem. The inconsistency comes from me, not from Him.

Every time that I devote myself to some extended and focused time with God, I see identifiable results. And every time that I revert back to business as usual. I see mundane and average results. The old adage that you only get out of something what you put into it holds true in our spiritual lives also.

Before we go, I don’t want to leave you with the mistaken impression that I have returned to spending two hours of devoted time with God every night like I did in January. Maybe some people can do that, but I don’t believe that I will ever be that spiritual.

Fortunately I don’t have to be and neither do you. But we do need to give God some measure of planned dedicated time on some type of consistent basis. We are promised that when we seek Him, we will find Him along with His wisdom, guidance, comfort, and answers. Indeed that is real spiritual success. And it is available to each of us.

But that type of success does require a pattern of behavior on our part. A pattern that gives God some dedicated time.

I’m committed to getting better at that. How about you?