Living in Abundance: Leaving Fear Behind
“God created you for good!” Let it sink in for a minute. Repeat the phrase five to ten times, “I am created and designed for good.”
Notice your initial reaction. You may experience a sense of gratitude. You know this is your true, created state. For others, your gut reaction is one of unbelief. You have suffered and these words ring hollow. You’ve experienced trials, difficulties, and incurred great harm on your journey through the world. When you say these words, you question their validity.
Both reactions are natural. Each response reflects your experience of the world. It also reflects your understanding and consciousness of God. Your lack of trust in these words may be warranted. The human world can be harsh and demanding. You face inequities and struggle in daily life. The negative events you have experienced are bound to leave scars on your soul. As a result, your consciousness directs not towards your highest good, but a constant spiritual survivor mode.
Living in Abundance: Moving Your Thoughts Towards Prosperity
When moving towards a life of abundance, one of the biggest obstacles you will face is your thoughts. The human brain is constantly scanning for dangers in your environment. This is a protective factor, equipping you for the difficulties of life. Thankfully, most of the risks identified by the brain never happen in real life. However, this constant scanning results in a heightened state of anxiety and a life of fear.
This state of fear, plus the sensationalism of modern media, further intensifies your anxiety. You live in a world that is continually reporting on the propensity of financial depression, economic stagnation, and governmental failures. It seems every media report is about the potential collapse of societal systems.
There is an alternative to this constant state of fear and scarcity. When you look to God as your sustenance and supply; these systems of fear and lack no longer impact you. However, to live in this new state of abundance, you must change your thoughts and how you spiritually see the world.
Discerning Your Spiritual Calling: Expanding & Awakening Your Faith:
Eric Butterworth (2003) in the book The Creative Life: 7 Keys to Your Inner Genius, uses the Genesis creation account to outline a seven-step meditation process for discovering your spiritual calling. Butterworth notes that each stage of the creation story provides guidance on how you can fulfill your purpose and create a life of meaning. This article explores the second step of the meditational practice: awakening your faith.
During the initial phase of creation, God formed the heavens and the earth by separating light from the darkness. Metaphorically, this is the equivalent of the initial revelation of your spiritual call. You receive the initial illumination, yet you don’t have the details or the plan for how your calling will manifest.
How Do I Know I Have a Spiritual Calling?
Discerning your individual spiritual call is a struggle. You may yearn for a clear, concise road map that will guide you to your life’s mission, but callings are rarely so clearly outlined. Think about it! What you are really wanting when discerning God’s call is a magic letter in your email inbox. The magic email would outline the date you needed to report to duty, the supplies needed, and concise guidance on how to best pursue your calling. The email may even include a basic orientation on how to navigate the uncertainties and fears associated with your calling.
Unfortunately, your spiritual calling does not come as a magic letter. In fact, if you were to do an exhaustive search of the Bible, no person is called to spiritual service in the same way.
Your Spiritual Call is Lifelong Part 2: Early Adulthood
As noted in Part 1 of this article, we often view our spiritual calling as a onetime life event. Unfortunately, this approach to your spiritual call is very limiting because you mature physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually over your lifetime. For this reason, a onetime, one size fits all approach to calling does not work for individuals. Instead, you need to approach your spiritual calling is a flexible manner that allows you to adjust your calling as you grow and develop overtime.
Viewing a spiritual call as a lifelong, unfolding process is perhaps one of the healthiest approaches to spiritual calling. You're no longer locked into one path and one purpose. God uses your talents, gifts, and abilities in new and flexible ways. This flexibility responds to the needs of an ever-changing world.
One of the best ways of exploring your spiritual calling is to explore the tasks we accomplish at various life stages. These stages include early childhood, later childhood, adolescent, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and later life (Erikson, 1950; Zastrow & Kirst Ashman, 2010). Each of these developmental stages have their own unique opportunities and challenges to form you spiritually.