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Getting the Results

One of the most daunting things in life can be waiting for the results of a medical test. I’ve heard people say they’d rather have bad news than have no news at all. Somehow, not knowing takes a heavier emotional toll on us than knowing what the problem is, even if it’s nasty. Knowing allows us to do something about the situation. Not knowing paralyses us. We don’t want to start some form of treatment which may not be useful, but not doing anything when we fear there might be something wrong is nerve-wracking.

We’ve spent 12 sessions having a spiritual checkup. We’ve finished each one with a diagnostic question to help us gauge how we’re doing. Since we don’t have the privilege of sitting down one-on-one to go over the issues we looked at, you’ll have to do it yourself. Be as objective and honest as you can be. Lets go over the questions we asked ourselves one more time:

  1. Have I let go of the stuff that would get in the way of my relationship with God?
  2. Am I prepared for any possible response of God to my letting things go?
  3. Can I confess with Paul that I have no righteousness of my own through keeping the law?
  4. Does my identity rise primarily from my relationship with Jesus?
  5. Am I able to identify progress in the spiritual growth process of my life?
  6. Do I freely acknowledge, privately as well as publicly, that I still have a long way to go in my spiritual development?
  7. Do I have a clear sense of what God wants me to do with my life and am I pursuing that whole-heartedly?
  8. Am I focussed on and motivated by the prize at the end of the race?
  9. Am I diligently exercising my spiritual gift for the benefit of others and the glory of God?
  10. Am I intentionally choosing the power of God to conquer my fear?
  11. Am I motivated by and expressing the love of God to others, even the unlovely and unlovable?
  12. Am I exercising my self-control to say "no" to fear and "yes" to God?

Well, how did you do? My guess is that we all fall short in some ways, probably in all ways. So what’s next? Here are four things to do:

Set your priorities. If becoming spiritually mature isn’t at the top of your priority list, put it there. At the very least, move it up a few notches. Nothing is more important to God. What could be more important to us?

Make a plan. Spiritual maturity does not come to us naturally or spontaneously so we need to be intentional about it. Look at the areas we touched on and identify the ones that especially need improvement. Then, jot down a few practical things you can do for each one.

Put the plan into practice. While we can’t produce spiritual growth ourselves, we have to cooperate with God in the process. Insight is important, even necessary, but it is not enough. You have to start acting on the knowledge you have.

Persevere. You’ll find that doing the things on your list isn’t too hard the first time, or even the second or third time, but a little later, distractions, disappointments, and sometimes apparent lack of results will drag you down and prompt you to give up. Don’t. Stick with it. God hasn’t given up on you. Why should you give up on yourself?

That’s all the time we have together on this exercise. May I express my encouragement as you take the steps to move forward with renewed spiritual vigour.

Ron Hughes
© January 2009