Faith Venture

Every day the social networks LinkedIn and Facebook send email messages. On the surface, they just want to  inform me about posts from people I know. What they really wish to achieve is my attention and presence on their sites. They earn income from my presence while viewing interminable advertisements.

I recently offered to a small group a meditation on words from Isaiah where God says that we should not fear because “I, the Lord your God, has your right hand.”

Sometimes reading isn’t enough. Sometimes we need to feel the message. God doesn’t pester us with endless emails. Perhaps we need to develop the practices that tune us into God’s “social network.”

We can practice stillness. Stopping our hectic pace at regular intervals leaving an opening for God to connect.

We can practice small support groups where the group can offer assurances to each other in God’s name.

These practices will take us a lot farther than endless scrolling on social media.

There is a way for us to get the message.

But practice makes us accident prone.

Even ten minutes twice a day practicing stillness and listening makes all the difference.

Sailors once upon a time checked a map to determine the direction of their destination. They left port, set their compass for that direction, and followed the course.

We have GPS today. I am contemplating a vacation to Scotland. Part of the desired destination is to visit the Shetland Islands. OK, only because we’ve watched a TV series based on a series of novels where the setting is there. 

I visited Google Maps. We would fly into Edinburg and spend some time. A ferry crosses to Shetland from Aberdeen. The GPS told me the route from Edinburg to Aberdeen (1 hr 27 min if you’re interested). When we visit, I’ll set the GPs for the destination and follow the course.

Some people teach that the goal of someone entering Christianity is to go to heaven (sometimes incorrectly visualized as somewhere in the sky) by praying a magic prayer. And that’s it.

That concept has always made me uncomfortable in the sense that it’s (one) too easy and (two) there’s no “then what.” 

I’m one of those strange people who believe that Jesus meant what he said. And, much of what he said taught how to live with God in the Kingdom of Heaven starting right now.

Perhaps instead of trying to short-circuit to the goal, we should set our compasses toward the goal and practice living a life with-God.

Just as I wrote a couple days ago, stories evolve in layers unveiling new and more important meanings. As we live out our vision of progressing toward a goal rather than being completed resting on our laurels, we live a better life.

The idea of leading a disciplined life gradually came to me the spring following a “promotion” at work from a position in manufacturing where I walked constantly (before the days of tracking steps) to a desk job the previous summer. I could barely run to first base in the first spring softball practice.

That led to a discipline of early morning runs before heading to work. That discipline got me through COVID when gyms were closed and we had just moved to a new state. I lost some fitness and gained some weight, but it could have been much worse.

Two books came my way years ago—Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster and The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. I have taught classes based on these books.

Recently I sketched an outline for a new class on Spiritual Disciplines. Thinking on these and my experiences, I concluded that a further introduction was needed for the students. Perhaps an introduction of habit forming, such as from Atomic Habits or the Power of Habit.

Then this report on research on exercise and mental health from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pump Club newsletter—Researchers conducted a powerful statistical method that combines data from multiple studies to uncover underlying connections between exercise and mental health. The findings were clear: physical activity was strongly linked to increased resilience, and resilience, in turn, was associated with lower levels of anxiety, depression, and overall psychological distress.

Before we jump right into studying prayer, for example, as a spiritual discipline, perhaps we need to pay attention to our bodies and minds and their role in beginning and maintaining discipline. Unless, that is, we join a monastery where we are forced to rise at 4 am for morning prayers.

Pursuing Spiritual Discipline is a “full-contact sport.” We must involve mind and body, as well as, spirit to the extent of our capabilities.

Aristotle wrote and taught about 350 years before Jesus walked the earth, yet I think that Jesus would have agreed with much of his thoughts about life. For example, inculcating habits of moderation, generosity, and self-control. These qualities elevate not only mood but also the quality of life itself.

Happiness Professor Arthur Brooks says that Aristotle had a unique take on happiness. Instead of seeing it as something to be found, Aristotle believed it was something we attract by living well. He called this eudaemonia, or “good spirit,” and argued that happiness visits us when we practice specific virtues and turn them into habits.

Similarly, I think that following spiritual practices (prayer, meditation, reading, and the like) attract the Spirit of God into us. And when the Spirit of God resides in us, the quality of our life improves.

When a day opens with the same message from different sources, I pay attention. Surely God must be trying to tell me something important.

I had met some resistance with my daily meditation practice. An opportunity to study with a teacher for a period of time presented itself. He has defined through his study and practice seven hindrances (I love that word). These roughly align with what I learned long ago from John Climacus, aka St. John of the Ladder. These are:

• Restlessness
• Reluctance
• Worry
• Dullness
• Desire-craving
• Aversion-resistance
• Doubt

He advises becoming aware of which hindrance is interfering and just sitting with it. Recognize it. Label it. Maybe play with it in your mind.

It’s a bit like Steve Carter observed in his book on grief—Grieve, Breathe, Relieve. Sometimes you just have to sit with your grief for a period of time until you can breathe into it.

The next thing I read following the introduction of the hindrances to meditation and prayer came from my health and fitness app. The moderator asked us to define what is holding us pack from our regular fitness and nutrition practice. The first step to getting back on track is to recognize that hindrance. Then we can deal with it.

What is holding you back today from being the Jesus follower you were meant to be?