For a long time, I have been collecting ideas and books to help me grow spiritually. My issue has been that I want to read everything, do every spiritual exercise, listen to every sermon. As a result, I have not done anything.
No, really. I have all these great resources at my fingertips, and I am not using any of them. I keep thinking about it, but not actually taking any action.
I’m probably the only one.
Do you ever struggle with reading your Bible, prayer and the countless other spiritual growth opportunities open to you? More than any other generation in the history of the world, we have access to resources to propel us forward spiritually…and yet it is overwhelming, isn’t it?
Well, I decided to take action. I created a Spiritual Life Plan for myself to help give me the direction I need to move forward. I am still developing the idea, but here are some tips to get you started.
1) Learn: Make a list of all of the books, podcasts, sermons, and other resources you want to include in your Spiritual Life Plan.
2) Serve: Make a list of the people you want and need to be part of your spiritual journey. Some of these are people ahead of you. Some are people younger in the faith or possibly right where you are. Some are in your life now, but others are not yet.
3) Create: Make a list of things you want to do or create as part of your spiritual journey.
4) Add Margin. Think about a 3-5 year timeline and start going through your Learn, Serve and Create Lists. What and who needs to come off? Make sure you have margin as new ideas, new books, and new people come along.
5) Create an Ideal Rhythm. From here, work on your schedule. Think through your ideal day, week, month and year spiritually. Then start plugging into the resources, people and projects you have on your 3 lists. For example, I have included an ideal daily devotional time, a weekly longer time of worship and study, a plan for holidays, vacations and travel. I even have a plan for what I will listen to in the car, a family devotional, a quick morning and evening prayer time, and how I want to cool down at night (that does not include my phone or laptop).
6) Go Deep in Prayer and Scripture. I should have said this first, but hopefully you are reading this whole post before you are taking action. There are a ton of spiritual exercises or disciplines to include in your SLP. I would like to encourage you to make Prayer and Scripture a priority. This may seem obvious, but in my experience, depending on your background, one or the other of these is very difficult for you. Push through this resistance and choose to make both of upmost importance. Choose to believe in the power of both Prayer and Scripture.
As an Idea Addict, I have all kinds of ideas on many topics, including spiritual growth. If this post is helpful, let me know and I’ll speak more on the subject in the future. May the Lord bless you and keep you as you take steps closer to Him.
What awesome resources would you recommend to me for my Spiritual Life Plan? Please share in the comments section or on social media.
