Spend a day in self-examination and humilty

It is amazing to me sometimes to see principles in places that are highly regarded by the populace and yet are unknown to be elements of God.  I say that because I just re-read Daniel Goleman‘s book on Emotional Intelligence and one of the principles of having emotional intelligence is the ability to have self-awareness.

At the beginning of this year, I decided to participate in a spiritual exercise of fasting for 21 days.  I was now in my 6th month of eating properly and felt it was time to add a spiritual dimension to the start of the new year. It is  not only abstinence from food, but that penitence and humiliation which would give me some scope and purpose.

Nothing helps to get a better understanding of where you stand with God then a time to reflect and a time to be humble before Him.

Every August, during the first two weeks, I spend a day in each of those weeks in the woods with God for prayer and meditation.  God basically directs what happens.  I have had times of incredible weeping over my sin, times of worship and praise over the memories of His hand directing my life, plans for what I need to do to move my life forward and every time, walking back into my world a little bit more humble than when I left it.

In the summer of 2010, my first day of my prayer walk in the woods, God called me to the ministry of SAT-7 Canada.  Almost half my pay, no benefits, the tiniest of operational budget, the possibilities of sinking or swimming were in the hand of God.  My first reaction was to tell God that there was no way my wife would agree to this.

The following week, in my prayer walk in the woods, God called me to the ministry of SAT-7.  He showed me lives being changed, He showed me followers of Jesus being strengthened in their walk with God, He showed me how He needed SAT-7 to share the gospel to the most unreached people group in the world.  I said I would accept and go and tell my wife.

You see, you and I sit in this thick darkness, there is a veil over our hearts though the light of the glory of God is shining all around us, but not in us because of our unbelief.   Then when we come to apply the atonement, the blood of Christ, on our souls and ask God to remove our wrong, the times we decided to go our own way – our sins – we then, through the name of Jesus, are set free and we live.

How deep the humiliation can be when we come face to face with how far we have strayed.  That is the scary thing about being alone with God.  You might be changed.

 

 

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