SPIRITUAL CHECKLIST FOR 2014

SPIRITUAL CHECKLIST FOR 2014

By Mary Ann Wray

If you’ve gotten a little upset with yourself over the past year about the way some things are or were in your life as I have, at least you are honest and show signs of life and hope inside of you!  Smile. These uncomfortable situations, feelings or circumstances simply point to the fact that you need to experience a change! I believe God uses our discomforts to prod us into action. Once we begin the process, spiritual momentum occurs. Change is not a dirty word. It’s GREAT when we activate the Holy Spirit’s God given GPS (God Positioning Spirit)! After all, we change our clothes, furniture, hairstyles, homes, and jobs if need be. Why not seek God for spiritual change if/ when you feel stuck? 

Paul tells us in Corinthians that we are “changed” from glory to glory as we behold His face (2 Corinthians 3: 18). The problem is many times we can‘t see His face because either the enemy, someone or something has cleverly masked it for us in a cloak of religion, tradition or wrong mind sets. If we are not being changed on a regular basis something is wrong. If we are not experiencing change for the better in or lives, something is wrong. God is good all the time and His mercies are NEW every morning! He doesn’t want us to be or feel stuck! Yes, we will have challenges along with tests and trials, but life isn’t meant to be drudgery. Christ came to give us life (zoe) and that more abundantly!

"Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another-- she has not gone into exile. So she tastes as she did, and her aroma is unchanged.” Jeremiah 48: 11

Just like a carafe of once freshly brewed coffee that remains shut, it will eventually cool and become stale unless it is opened and used. Unless we open our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit in a new way, and pour our hearts out to Him honestly, we’ll get stale spiritually. But there is always hope for growth and spiritual metamorphosis if you’re willing to take the risks! For a long time, I blamed myself for feeling the way I did about particular things going on or not going on in my life. I believed and stood in faith for certain things to happen and it seemed like everything had come to a complete halt. I was just stuck in park but couldn’t get out of it! Oh, I was busy doing good things for sure, but there was no joy or spiritual momentum in any of it. It was as if I was stuck in a recurring cycle that produced nothing new or taking me nowhere; much like riding a recumbent bike.

I even began to feel  like there was something wrong with me for noticing things that I didn’t pay much attention to before. I thought that maybe I needed more faith or more commitment or more something or other….But after much prayer and honest  introspection, I realized it was just a spiritual ‘cop out’ to blame myself rather than do an honest, holistic assessment of where I was spiritually, emotionally and circumstantially.

The Holy Spirit was actually answering my prayers by opening my eyes to certain realities that were previously going unnoticed. It wasn’t just about what I was doing or not doing. It required me being honest about the people places and things I was involved with and how it all was affecting my spiritual barometer. It wasn’t just “me”. There was a lack of spiritual synergy and I needed a jump start in the Holy Ghost! I HAD to make a change and began taking small steps in that direction after much prayer and pointed discussion with trusted friends and family.

The outcome was that I understood how important and necessary it was for me to  take personal responsibility and seek God for the changes inwardly and outwardly that were necessary to move and shift into a new season. I was tired of being half dead and dry. I wanted more and I knew there was more available in God for me! But it was clear that the Holy Spirit was saying, “Nothing will ever change unless you initiate it.” So I began a six month journey of reading new books, taking online prophetic courses, going to different conferences, visiting different cities…all with one purpose in mind: to hear from God and see things from a different perspective. It was like I had developed spiritual ‘tunnel vision’ and couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

If I didn’t make some necessary changes and decided to ‘settle’ I would never have come into the exciting new dimension and season in God that I am experiencing right now! You see, if you remain comfortable with things the way they are it could be a sign that you're stuck spiritually. Worse yet, you could be experiencing bewitchment by selfish manipulative or controlling people speaking things into your life who really do not have your best interest in mind.  

It's necessary for each one of us to take responsibility for our own spiritual growth and development. This will require a spiritual self ‘checkup’. I challenge you to ask yourself a few questions to determine your current spiritual ‘latitude’. Afterwards, you can pray about  making some adjustments that can help alter your future destiny in God for the better. Stop waiting for someone else to do it for you and ask Holy Spirit what to do and where to go!

Here’s a few questions to begin to stir your thought process and start your own spiritual self-assessment:

1. Am I spiritually and emotionally more mature and stable than I was a year ago?

2. Am I stepping out in the gifts of the Spirit or do I see myself and other people being used simply for what I/ they can 'do'  rather than who I am in Christ?

3. Do I understand my purpose and calling in God's Kingdom or am I still wondering and confused after XX amount of years while sitting 'faithfully' in church and paying my tithes?

4. Do I feel oppressed and held back or do I experience liberty and freedom to use the talents and gifts God has given me (with guidance and instruction of course)?

5. Is there liberty to ask questions or is there an air of secrecy? Do I feel like my voice is being muffled?

6. Do I feel stuck spiritually or do I have a sense of direction even if I'm not certain of my future?

7. Are people being revived, healed from diverse sicknesses and diseases, delivered from demonic oppression and saved on a regular basis or is it months or years before I see any spiritual manifestation where I fellowship?

8. Am I honestly growing spiritually and being fulfilled as a child of God right where I am even though I know life is a journey?

If you answered negatively to one or more of these questions, then it may be time to do something different in order to see something different occur in your life! Sometimes, it is just a matter of making a minor adjustment. In my case, I required more of an overhaul! Either way, change is good when it is directed and orchestrated by our Heavenly Father! Remember, with God NOTHING is impossible. He will make a way where there seems to be no way. Decide to trust Jesus at a higher level this year and watch Him lead you in a path of righteousness that is new and exciting!

Happy New Year and Happy Journey with Jesus my friend!

“For nothing will be impossible with God." Luke 1: 37