Paying Attention (eBook)

A Spiritual Journey

Ronald Cole (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
156 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-1-64515-871-4 (ISBN)

Infos

PAYING ATTENTION: A Spiritual Journey

Did God create us and just leave us here to our own devices? e Bible

says that God created man and woman in his image. God, being spirit,

I understand that to mean we are created in God's spiritual image. at

spiritual image is our essence which keeps us connected to God. God

said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So with that in mind:

• Is God talking to us?

• If so, what is God saying to us?

• Are we listening?

Paying attention to the movement of God in our life and the lives of

the people around us can be very enlightening. God is speaking to us.

e purpose of the book is to inspire us to look and listen. It might be

an event or situation you encounter, it might be that still voice Isaiah

mentioned in Isaiah 30:21, 'Whether you turn to the right or to the

left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ' is is the way; walk

in it.'' We all have a life's journey, which can be enhanced by paying

attention to the spirit of God within us.

Textauszug

Introduction

Human nature causes us to wonder why situations occur the way they do. Regardless of culture, nationality or gender, we all have the natural inclination to wonder, think and feel. Even though our differing characteristics may affect or have an impact on how we think or feel, we still wonder, why. It is our human nature that causes this longing to know the why. Why am I alive? Why is the world the way it is? Why did this or that happen?

The inspiration for this book is the result of me asking myself a few simple why questions. Why had I encountered the trials I’d experienced in my life? Why had some of those experiences seemed mysterious and out of the ordinary or spiritual? More specifically, why had God done things in my life that I could not explain? The answer that eventually came to me was- “so you can tell somebody.” So, after almost fifty years of keeping my experiences to myself and receiving that answer, I began to share those experiences. God was giving me the light, but I wasn’t letting that light shine.

This narrative is a testimony to how some of those “why” questions were answered for me. Being aware of and paying attention to the movement of God in my life has been life producing. I am talking about spiritual growth and spiritual maturity. My view of Spiritual is, “seeking my soul, my soul being the deep-seated image of God within me.” Specifically, that part of me that is unseen and sometimes unfelt, but I know it is there. That knowing is what I call faith. As I became aware of, and paid attention to, the movement of God in my life, my faith grew. As my faith grew my spirituality grew and matured.

Paying attention to the spiritual growth I was experiencing inspired me to go deeper within myself, seeking more biblical knowledge, in the hopes of becoming wiser. Gaining wisdom from the knowledge I’d acquired would enable me to make better decisions. I hoped those decisions would lead me to a better life. Little did I know my spiritual growth would also lead me to become a very contemplative and discerning individual.

That was a big contrast to the individual that worried a lot regarding the outcome of different circumstances in his life. Trying to control those circumstances caused me to form opinions and judgments, which would lead me to lean on my own understanding. At that time in my life, my reaction to what was going on around me was more worldly than Godly. Going forward, when I speak of worldly I’m speaking of being more concerned about the characteristics associated worldly thinking such as pride, ego, envy, lust, and others, which equates to spiritual immaturity.

However, as I became more contemplative and discerning, the worry was replaced with spiritual maturity. In my opinion, the difference between worrying and being contemplative is two-fold. Firstly, worry brings on fear. Once I became contemplative the fear was replaced with a thoughtful, meditative approach to dealing with the situation or circumstance. Secondly, fear produces a vision of trouble and difficulty. Conversely, being contemplative allows me to see those perceived troubles or difficulties as opportunities. Contemplation doesn’t produce the anxiety or fear in me that was produced by worrying.

Along with my ability to be contemplative came discernment. The dictionary defines discernment in a Christian context is, “perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual direction and understanding.” Discernment is calming and produces the wisdom that I feel gives me the strength and insight to be still. When I speak of stillness, I’m speaking of internal stillness. You can be still and physically active at the same time. This kind of stillness, in turn, produces peace in my life, and aids me to walk by faith, and not by sight. Without being still I would not have been able to notice the redemptive action of God taking place in my life.

Being discerning and contemplative did not have the negative effect on my decision-making that worrying had. The judgmental perception of the situation was removed. Being human, to approach any situation without judgment is very hard to do, if not impossible. However, when I couple discernment with contemplation, I am able to see situations from a boarder perspective, both the positive as well as the negative. Discernment also allows me to see where my judgment exists.

By identifying the judgment, I am able to broaden, not limit my perspective hoping to make wiser decisions. Any judgment is viewed through two different lenses. One being a worldly lens, which views things using worldly values, the other being spiritual lens, which views things using the word of God. When I compare past reactions to different situations, I can see which lens had determined my decision as well as my actions. As I matured and grew in faith the spiritual lens became the dominant lens. The more dominant the spiritual lens became the more peace, and less conflict began to dominate my life.

Becoming contemplative and discerning also produced patience within me. This gave me the ability to be still internally, which meant gaining control of my reaction to circumstances around me. A wrong reaction or quick reaction was often the beginning of a lot of unnecessary drama. Being still allows me to watch things unfold, and then to contemplate and discern how interjecting myself into the situation might affect the interaction. Being still internally has become a very important practice for me, and it comes with many benefits. For one, I don’t get caught up in other people’s drama. Which used to serve as a detour from my personal journey, and it interrupted my ability to focus on what I needed to be doing to move myself forward.

Although I was growing older, I knew that in order to grow spiritually I had to pay attention to God’s grace on my life. As time unfolded, through trials and tribulations God’s presence became obvious to me. Acknowledging God’s presence in my life became critical. Although I had not been acknowledging God’s presence in my youth and through many of my adult years, God’s presence persisted. God still loved and protected me with grace and mercy. Reflecting on some of the trials and experiences in my life, it could have only been God’s hand on my life that affected the outcome of those trials.

Acknowledging God’s presence, allowed me to humble myself. Humbling myself had been impossible before acknowledging God’s presence because I was ego and world driven thinking I was in control of my life. Finally coming to the realization that I was not in control of anything, which was contrary to my human indoctrination. We are taught to be go-getters, make things happen, and be proactive. Having been trained to have that mindset, I was certain that I was in control. Certainly, I thought I was in control of the decisions I made, but it was God who controlled the outcome of those decisions.

Early in my journey I thought I had a tough life battling one challenging situation after another. I didn’t understand that God was preparing me for the life I am to live and was walking with me daily. God not only walks with me, but each and every one of us. As scripture states, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have perfect peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer, take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted! For I have overcome the world. I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.”

This particular scripture keeps me from getting buried in life’s challenges. I pray for the insight to make good decisions and accept responsibility for the decisions that I do make. I place myself in whatever situation, with the understanding that God is in control. This is a huge contrast from the days when I thought I was controlling everything. Now my focus is to embrace each situation with the intentions of gaining deeper insight.

My prayer is that you view the challenges of my life as a backdrop to the movement of God in my life and perhaps see similarities to your life. The experiences I considered spiritual were the defining moments that enhanced the growth of my faith in God. Those experiences took my focus off of what is considered worldly and lead me to discern and contemplate on what is spiritual. The end result has been very transforming moving me from a life of internal conflict to a life of peace. Embracing my spiritual formation made that possible.

Focusing on my Spiritual Formation was a way for me to get something different out of life. Spiritual Formation as explained by Dr. David Currie, a professor at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, “Spiritual Formation is the lifelong, faith-filled process of the Holy Spirit transforming the whole person into the likeness of Christ to the glory of the father as informed by the whole word of God, in relationship with the whole people of God, to fulfill the whole mission of God.” In very broad terms, spiritual formation is the process of the spiritual shaping and growth of an individual. Spiritual Formation focuses on the ordinary maturing of one’s relationship with God. In this book, I endeavor to share my experience with that process.

The end result of Spiritual Formation is the life-long transforming power of the process. Paying attention has given me the opportunity to see that transforming power in...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 10.12.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Christentum
• ISBN-10: 1-64515-871-3 / 1645158713
• ISBN-13: 978-1-64515-871-4 / 9781645158714