Winter of the Spirit

When the cold winds blow and the calendar turns over to a New Year, some folks think about shedding a few pounds after the holiday season, others resolve to eat better, spend more time with family, or even read more. I usually take a few moments to think about my spiritual life. Perhaps it’s an occupational hazard.

The Apostle Paul uses several athletic metaphors in reference to spiritual growth when he talks about “fighting the good fight,” (1 Tim. 6:12) or “running to win the race,” (1 Cor. 9:24), so perhaps I am in good company.

If you are also thinking about how you might improve your life with God in the New Year, let me encourage you to do so in several areas.

First, in the area of Personal Devotion. How much time do you regularly spend with God? If you think of your relationship with God as much like your other relationships, it makes sense that we nurture those relationships with our presence and communication. In the early stages of any relationship, what helps that relationship grow is time spent together, and conversation over a wide variety of topics. That’s how we get to know one another better.

I believe the same is true in our relationship with God. The way to feel closer to God is to spend time with God. We do this through prayer, which is a simple as talking to God, and through worship, in which we offer back to God some of the spiritual blessings with which we have been blessed.

Oswald Chambers compares our spiritual blessings to the manna the Israelites received in the wilderness to sustain them. If you recall the story, one of the unique features of the manna was that it would not keep. It spoiled if you so much as tried to keep it overnight. Chambers says, “God will never allow you to keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.”

The lesson to be learned from this is that we can never hoard the gifts and blessings of God. They are to be used and shared, and we are to rely on God for any future blessings so that we can continue to work that God has given us.

This brings me to the second area in which we might seek to improve our spiritual relationship with God. In contrast to the first area, we might call this Public Devotion. It almost seems sacrilegious, or at least counter-productive, especially in light of Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees’ habit of public devotion whose only purpose was to call attention to themselves.

I don’t think we should condemn public devotion, but, rather, look to its higher purpose. As Jesus pointed out, those who are merely looking for public approval have already gotten their reward (Matt. 6:2, 5). The true reward of public devotion is in the sharing; we are blessed when we see others blessed. There is a mutual encouragement.

As the writer of Hebrews puts it, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching,” (Heb. 10:24, 25).

So as we are thinking about life’s priorities for the coming New Year, let’s not forget our spiritual fitness, and our relationship with God. Just like any other relationship, it requires work and attention.