We live in a culture that leans more and more toward commercialism, secularism, and materialism. This makes it difficult to keep our souls nourished. When times are inhospitable to spiritual growth, the challenge becomes in how to nurture, restore, heal, and renew the soul.
Below are several practical suggestions for building your own spiritual life:
- River, not a Swamp – It is the mountain stream that carries fresh water that gives life. The swamp, by contrast, kills life and becomes stagnant. The swamp collects and retains water. Don’t be the person that seeks to accumulate to much before letting some flow out. Christians are to let the blessings flow through us and toward others. When we hold back blessing others, we too can become stagnant, detached, and cynical. Let the freshness flow in and out as a river.
- Identify Blessings – Often, we go through our lives oblivious to the blessings that exist. Try an exercise to help you. For one week, identify a blessing at the end of the day. The first day, focus on family, the neighbor, friend, work colleague, stranger, child, and “enemy.” By the end of the week, you have seven blessings from expected and unexpected places.
- Speak Blessings – Share blessings with others by sharing a few simple verses from the Bible. Numbers 6:24-26 is easy to remember and can be worded in new ways with the same message. As you build others up, your spirit will grow as well.
- Shared Prayer – Spend time praying with others and increase your prayer time in the process. Try adding time in prayer by letting others know you are available any time, attending prayer groups, and adding yourself to a prayer chain.
- Step of Faith – You must make a step of faith to grow spiritually. Follow God’s lead and make the step to see what happens. He will only set you up for success.
- Restore Faith – Take time to heal a wounded heart and extend kindness to someone who needs it. Do what you can to radiate God’s love today.
- Gratefulness – Try starting each day with a prayer of gratitude for the gift of another day. Do this even if the day seems dismal. Repeat in the evening, even if you had a rough day.
- Share Your Journey – Find someone who is also seeking spiritual growth and meet once a week to study and reflect on spiritual matters. This can be a study with a specific book or just alternating topics. It can make a huge difference.
- Serve – Find ways to serve the community, especially in ways that offer nothing in return. Try working with shelter animals, picking up litter, or something else.
- Cultivate Solitude – Take some time away from the crowds and busyness. Take just a few minutes alone each day between you and God. This gets us focused with a mind of God instead of the problems in our daily lives.
- Pray and Fast- Taking time to fast with specific times of prayer was often done in the Bible. When you are urgently praying for something or someone, consider also fasting to help keep you focused.
- Turn Over Your Worries – Each time worries pop up, give them to the Lord as the Bible teaches.
- Spread Love – Mother Theresa taught that everyone that left you should do so happier and better. Be an expression of Christ and show kindness to all in all you do, even if just through a smile.
- Priorities – Knowing what is important and what isn’t is important. We need to know what we want to be remembered for and make that a priority.
- Strive for Excellence – The Bible tells us to do whatever we do well. Whatever situation God places us in is where we should do our best.
- Use It or Lose It – God has given each of us gifts and talents, but we must use them or they can disappear.
- Meditate – The Scripture has verses that offer comfort, wisdom, and encouragement. Read these verses and spend time meditating on them to grow spiritually. When we study regularly, we can start to see the Bible come to life in our daily routines.
- Reliability – Always do what you say or promise to do, even if it is inconvenient. This shows others you can be trusted and counted upon if you give your word.
- Ask God to make You a Blessing – Ask God to turn your life into a blessing for others. This can be a daily prayer that God will honor if you allow it.
- Enjoy Nature – Nature is God’s creation and spending time outdoors, away from the hustle and bustle can help us connect. Take time to see God in all the intricacies of nature.
- Make Good Choices – We all have the freedom of choice. We can choose joy, love, and forgiveness or despair, hate, and revenge. We need to choose wisely.