Spiritual disciplines are something that I don't really feel like we talk about as much as we should or at least don't put enough of an emphasis on them. If we do talk about spiritual disciplines, it often can begin to look like a check list. Well the Lord has taught me a lot about spiritual disciplines the past few months so I just wanted to share with you my journey as far as spiritual disciplines go.
I was blessed to have the opportunity to go to a Lutheran school PreK-8th grade. At the time I might not always have seen it as a blessing, but I've been reminded often of just how big of a blessing it really was for me. Every Monday morning during roll our teacher would also mark down if we went to church and Sunday school the day before and for me being a bit of a perfectionist when it came to school, I always wanted to be able to say that I had gone to both and thankfully it was a priority for my parents for us to go so I never really thought about it. We also had religion class once a week, chapel once a week, and had to recite memory verses multiple times throughout the week. I remember my friends and I complaining about these things often, for me it was just one more thing to check off my to do list, but what I didn't realize is that they were instilling Truth into me that would lay a foundation for me in the years to come.
When I got to high school I switched to the public school and went through a bit of a culture shock. I was no longer required to spend time studying or memorizing God's Word. I still went to Sunday school, church, and youth group every week and it truly was important to me. I have been a Christian for practically my entire life, but it was in JR high that I truly started to understand what it meant to have an actual relationship with God. So for me going to church was about getting to know my Lord, Savior, and Friend better. I truly enjoyed it and the friendships that I formed through the people at church proved to be extremely valuable to me. During my high school years I started struggling with depression and I ended up in a really dark place. It was during that time that I fell in love with God's Word. When I had nowhere else to turn, I turned to the Bible and the promises God gives us. I started spending time reading the Bible every day and journaling and eventually the Lord led me out of my depression. I continued to spend time in His Word daily and I prayed every night before bed and I honestly thought that that was enough. I thought I was doing good because I was doing more than most of the other people in youth group, but the problem was that I was comparing myself to what others were doing and not to the example that Christ gave us.
I was still living like that when I went to college. This was the first time that I didn't have a church home and I struggled with finding my place and some good community. I will admit that this was a constant struggle for me throughout my time in college. I still tried to spend time reading the Bible every day, but it was happening less and less and I hated going to church by myself so I started going to church less and less. One of the greatest blessings that happened to me while I was in college (and turns out would be for years to come) was when I got hired to work at Kanakuk K-7 the summer after my freshman year of college. The Lord used that as a wake up call in my life, that I needed to draw close to Him once more. K-7 was the first time I had ever been discipled by someone and I was so blessed to have Cat Hampsch be that person for me. She has been invaluable to me through the past 7 years. It was also through working at Kanakuk that I learned about K-Life and then got plugged in there for my last three years of college. I helped at Little K twice a month and got involved in a girls leaders Bible study once a week. Learning in a community with other girls was a huge blessing to me in those three years. These Bible studies were led by the K-Life's women's director who had just graduated from the Kanakuk Institute. I had heard about KI through my time at kamp (b/c almost all the leadership at K7 is involved with KI), but getting to walk alongside someone who had done it and learn from her made me so interested in going and just spending some time studying the Word. Also during my time at K7 I was reminded of the importance of memorizing Scripture but it wasn't something that translated well from summer to the school year. Prayer is another thing that was stressed a lot during my time at K7 and where I truly got to see the power of prayer at work.
After graduating from college I did indeed end up going to KI and it was here that I truly started to learn the importance of spiritual disciplines. Not only was I immersed in the study of God's Word, but I was once again memorizing Scripture, I was being discipled, but beyond that it was the first time that I have ever had an accountability partner. I was blessed to have a girl named Asha as my AP. Now you would have struggled to find two people less alike at KI than Asha and I, but that was a huge blessing because I got to see things from a different perspective and grow in areas that I was weak but Asha was strong. Not only did I have accountability for the first time, but it was one of the first times that I started taking on a teaching role. I had the opportunity to teach through doing Student Speakers at KI and through teaching Kid's World (children's church) once or twice a month. I was spending time in solitary prayer and study and also communal prayer and study. The year I spent at KI was truly the best year of my life so far. It was a place that the Lord used to break me of myself and grow me more into His image.
This summer though was when the Lord really smacked me in the face about spiritual disciplines. I had been in a bit of a dry spell before I got to kamp this summer and knew that the Lord was going to have to do a work in me if I was going to used for His glory and in pouring out to kampers and staff alike. He gave me Megan. All of the leadership team this summer had accountability partners and I was blessed beyond all measure to have Megan as mine. This girl is on fire for the Lord and so passionate about people and discipleship. I told her going into the summer that I needed to work on my spiritual disciplines and she walked alongside me the entire way and gave me some great insight. Not only did I have accountability in my life again, but I was spending quality time in God's Word, I was memorizing a new verse every week, I had a time of confession with Megan each week, and I started a prayer journal which has revolutionized my prayer life. I was also getting to lead a Bible Study for the babysitters and photographer and videographer and getting to spend time with those girls as well as getting a couple of opportunities to teach the kampers and even an opportunity to teach our girls leadership team one week. This summer is also the first time I had ever fasted. I honestly wasn't sure I could/wanted to, but I was convicted to do it so I did. That extra time that I got to spend with the Lord during that time was so precious and I loved watching the Lord bless that obedience. Now this summer was great, but I won't lie, it was HARD! There were plenty of days where I felt defeated and worn out and like I had nothing left to give, but the beauty of the Lord teaching me about spiritual disciplines this summer is that I was able to use those to get up and fight daily.
Today in church we talked about Jesus' baptism and when He was tempted in the desert found in Matthew 3:13-4:11. First we see the example of Christ in baptism and how through John's baptizing of Christ, He was giving approval of John's baptism of repentance. We then see the Spirit lead Jesus in the desert to be tempted by Satan. First of all, how could the Spirit have led Jesus unless Jesus knew the voice to which He should be listening? We also see Jesus fasting in solitude. It was during this time that Satan came and tempted Jesus. Satan is great at taking Truth and twisting it to say what he wants it to say and that's exactly what we see him do here with Jesus. But Jesus recognizes this twisting of the Truth (because He knows the Truth) and is then able to respond back to Satan with actual Truth. Jesus didn't pull out a scroll and say, "Now I know there is a verse about that in here somewhere...", no, He had it memorized and was able to fight back with it. What an example for us! Not only should we know Truth (through studying and memorizing) to recognize when someone is twisting the Truth, but we should be able to respond back with Truth. Practicing spiritual disciplines is not about checking off a to do list, it is about preparing for battle with our enemy. Are you prepared for that battle? The time to practice these is not while the battle is raging, but before the battle occurs. So I challenge you, if you aren't already, put these disciplines into practice and be prepared for when the battle comes!
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