Dancing in the Light

I John 1:7 "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Name:
Location: North Platte, Nebraska, United States

I am a christian wife, mother and grandmother. I am a licensed Social worker and a licensed Christian counselor. I am most proud of the relationships I have with God, my family and friends all over the world. I have been blessed beyond my dreams.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Spiritual Awareness

Have you ever felt all alone? Have there been times when it seemed God just wasn't hearing your prayers, or at least He wasn't answering them? Do you remember when you just knew that no one, absolutely no one understood? And did it ever seem like you were an outsider at Church and you wondered if your absence would even be noticed? (If you are the preacher, that last one probably doesn't apply to you) (grin). I think most of us can say these emotions are not unfamiliar to us. And yet, intellectually we know that God was there and that He was hearing and answering our prayers. And most usually we can look back on those times and feed our convictions and rest assured that as long as we belong to Him, He is ever and always faithful. It is that faith that sustains us and gives us peace. It is that knowledge that inspires us and eggs us on. It is that belief that gives us purpose and mission. So why can't we always feel it, know it, believe it? I think we often become so busy with living that we become some sort of spiritual zombies--oblivious to the way God works in our lives, the blessings He provides for us and the love that He gives us. We become spiritually unaware. This is obviously not the way God intended for us to be. He wants us to focus on the spiritual, the become more and more spiritually aware. He expects that from His people.
We live in a busy and fast paced world and although we are spiritual beings, we live here on earth. Here on earth, our lives are seldom simple. And yet God calls us to live lives that are spiritually focused. So how can we make that happen? I think it is possible to heighten our spiritual awareness, but it will require some changes.
First, we will need to raise up our heads. Too many people walk around looking at the ground, looking dejected and oppressed, as if they have absolutely nothing to live for. I have been told that those who train guide dogs for the blind will discount any dog who does not raise his head. Typically dogs sniff the ground but if a dog is to be fit to lead the visually impaired, they must lift up their heads. So it is with us, we cannot see where we are going if we are always looking down at where we are. We cannot focus on heaven when all we see is earth. We have to raise up our heads.
We also need to open our eyes. When we look around us, really look around us, we cannot help but see that God is, and that He provides. We cannot help but notice that not only did He make our world functional, He also made it beautiful. We have to get into the Word so we can learn what spiritual things He has in mind. We cannot see what He wants for us and what He desires from us unless we open our eyes.
And then we need to be still. We get so busy working to buy stuff and then working to maintain our stuff and then doing all the upkeep on our stuff that we can't always hear God's voice. I have often thought about little children, how when they are hurt and they cry. They want their parents and yet they are crying so loudly that their wailing drowns out the reassuring voice of their mother. And sometimes when they are playing and having fun, they are expressing themselves so loudly that their father's warnings of danger cannot be heard. Aren't we just like that? Doesn't it seem that sometimes the pain of our heart is crying so incessantly and so noisily that it seems God is not answering, not hearing, when in fact, we are the unhearing ones. If we could just stifle our cries a bit, I am convinced we could hear the Father's comforting and healing words. And aren't there times when our life is moving at such a fast pace, when the noise of life simply drowns out the warnings of the caring Father? Sometimes we just need to be still!
And lastly, we need to be thankful. When we embrace the Father's blessings with a grateful heart and a thankful spirit, we open up our hearts to accept more, to love more, to appreciate more. As we are thinking about the spiritual and thanking God for all He's done, we begin to see more, to notice more and to look for more. We become more spiritually aware.
The Bible gives us many admonitions to look at the spiritual, the eternal, rather than the earthly and carnal. Over and over again the contrast is made and the Christian heart is redirected. God tells us that we are spiritual beings, that He loves us and He made arrangements for us to live with Him for eternity. He promises to never leave us and it is on His word that we hang our faith. There will be times in our lives when we feel He is far away and that He has indeed forgotten us. He tells us that is just not so--it seems that way because we have lost our focus and have turned our eyes from Him. He reminds us that part of maturing is developing a spiritual awareness and that as it grows, our faith will become stronger, our love deeper and our hope more secure.
Blessings,
Neva

20 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Two posts in one week, what a treat!

Pat

11:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You are right on, we get so caught up in what is happening in our little world that we can't see God working in our lives. Great post!

Carlos

6:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's why I love that song, "Open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus" it always reminds me to be aware of the abundant blessings that come from being His.


Corinne

10:22 AM  
Blogger Donna G said...

Thanks! I just sometimes need to hear that others feel "that" aloneness. It is a battle that I sometimes have to engage in. I love all of your tips!

10:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You've become one of my favorites...flooding the internet with wisdom and truth bringing Christ into the lives and hearts of many. God Bless and thank you for your continued prayers...

donna

12:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Beautiful post! I especially like the analogy of a child wailing so loud that he can't hear the reassurances of his parents - not that I ever wail! *wink*

12:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love this post-you have such a way with words. You paint a beautiful picture.
thank you Neva, many blessings, dear friend.

Georgia

1:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow! That is beautiful Neva! I know that when I am walking in the valley, it usually takes only a short amount of time spent listening and looking to God before I am out of my mood and ready to take on the world again.

Randi

3:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh Neva, that post was just great again - and great at the right time. Thanks for posting that, it really put me "back to track" with some thoughts.

4:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amen!


Jarrod

5:35 PM  
Blogger Bill Williams said...

This, along with the previous post, are stellar. Thank you for your good work here and your faithfulness in prayer for our great big blog family.

Blessings,
-bill
Spiritual Oasis Blog

11:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Neva,
This is just what I needed today, thank you sister, you are an amazing friend and blogger.

Rachel

10:39 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great posts --I haven't commented because I just don't have anything to add--but they have been really good.


Mary

7:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There have been so many times when I felt just the way you described. I knew my faith was weak but I felt no hope. Should I face those times again, I am sure your tips will help. Thank you for caring about your readers and helping us to become spiritually aware.

In Christ's love
Jeneane

9:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So glad you are back to blogging. I need your wisdom!


Karli

10:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You are spot on, a mature faith always looks to Him rather than the world. Great job!

Dan

11:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I should have said "strives" to look to God. I dont think any of us can do that always but always is definitely the standard we aspire to. The striving truly is the difficult part because the world and selfishness gets in the way.
Dan
Sorry for the sermon--I can't seem to help myself. :)

11:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have felt that way and on the other side realized that God was there all the time. Our pastor always says "if you are not as close to God as you used to be, who moved?" Kinda ties in with this post, don't you think?

Lyndsay

9:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Neva,
I am looking forward to getting caught up on your recent posts. This is such an amazing analogy of Christ and His bride. Praying that we, His church, would love Him, respect Him, thank Him and praise Him all the more! Amen.

Scotti

2:30 PM  
Anonymous Michelle said...

If you are able to ask the right questions during a job interview you might be able to have a good conversation with the interviewer and may even break the tension inside the interview room. The start and end of the interview have more impact on your interview as a whole and asking questions at the end of the interview will paint you in a positive light, making a good last impression.. However, oftentimes the interviewer will allow the candidate to choose whether to ask any questions during the interview process or at the end. So if you have any pertinent questions in mind during the interview, dont be reluctant to ask. I'm sorry to be so blunt about this, but if your cover letter just isn't up to the job - in fact, worse than that your cover letter is probably just downright useless and harming any last chance you had of getting the job you really deserve. This is going to be beneficial to you because it will provide you with access to important tools, resources and information to get the job done, but it will also provide you with help from someone that knows what they are doing in writing a great resume that will get results. After recruiting in search and in-house for over ten years, I have read thousands of resumes. Due to sheer volume of resumes received and all the other things that vie for the recruiters attention in the hiring process scheduling, interviewing, networking, reference checks, client debriefs, and more the resume review process is ruthlessly quick. This is not the time to aim for deep reflection. A recruiter-proof resume is easily readable and grabs your attention quickly with the necessary info to position you for the right job. Ask a friend to look at your resume for 10 seconds. Now put it away. Can your friend answer these 5 questions?

3:16 PM  

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