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