Category: Key Growth Posts

In dry times and dark nights when God seems distant, God wants to go progressively deeper in order to purge the corruption we can’t see. In a dark night God shines his light on our impurities so we can see them and let go of them. John of the Cross (b. 1542 – d. 1591) illustrates this with the image of sunlight on a window. If the window is clean then the sun can illuminate the glass and the window shines like the sunlight. If the window is dirty then the window can not shine. The sunlight is the same in both cases; the issue is the cleanliness of the window.[1] Likewise, God’s light can permeate and illuminate us only to the extent that we are “clean”. This echoes Jesus’ teaching: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt. 5:8, NIV). Throughout our life, God continually Continue Reading →

This week is the third in a series on how to suffer. The first post presented ten suggestions as well as the second post. This week we present the last twelve suggestions. Accept your unwanted feelings and attitudes. After you have done what you can about your inner life you may still have anger, fear, sadness, impatience, and many other undesirable traits that you did not have much of before the suffering. This can be devastating to those who truly want to mature in Christ. But do not give in to the temptation of beating yourself up about it. You need to accept your lack of maturity and treat God and others the best you can. In other words, learn to “sit with your weeds.” Meditate on Jesus’ sufferings especially his last days up to the Cross. Troubles are temptations to doubt God but “he will not let you be Continue Reading →

Following is a list of guidelines for walking through suffering with God. Find the ones that are helpful to you. Focusing on destiny helps to overcome trials. Spend a couple of minutes each day picturing your destiny in the perfect community of love with God and his followers. Honestly express your heart to God. Find Psalms or other passages that express your heart and use them to pray to God. If you are truly angry with God then respectfully express it to him with your emotions. Spend at least 20 minutes in solitude twice a week in order to become aware of the thoughts and feelings that are coming up inside. You can just sit and let them come or ask yourself some questions. When they come up then you can begin to process them. This will help keep the flow of your heart flowing freely and not bottled up. Continue Reading →

This is our third post on the topic of humility. We began with the challenge of humility then looked at the humility of Francis of Assisi. I thought that it would be helpful to list some of the traits of deeper humility mentioned by two great Christian teachers. The first list is from John of the Cross (b. 1542 – d. 1591) who observed: They think everyone else is far better than they are… Their good deeds and the gratification they receive from them only cause them to be more aware of their debt to God and the inadequacy of their service to him… These souls humbly and tranquilly long to be taught by anyone who might be a help to them. They rejoice when others receive praise… These souls would give their life’s blood to anyone who serves God… When they see themselves fall into imperfections, they suffer this Continue Reading →