Getting Started

“If the Holy Spirit should come to you and begin to preach to your heart, giving you rich and enlightened thoughts…be quiet and listen, note it and write it down, so you will experience miracles.”                                               

Martin Luther

Day 1 – 7-Day Spiritual Journey

The quote above is perfect for what I hope to encounter through my 7-Day Spiritual Journey.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the day to arrive so I can get started on my Spiritual Journey.

So, let’s get started. My goal is to grow closer to God. I’ve felt a distance lately and I want desperately to learn to seek His face and to know what that means.

Things didn’t go as Planned – Spiritual Journey Day 1.  

Unexpectedly, the chilly morning began with me having a headache, but I wasn’t about to let a little pain stop me before I even got started.

Now, where should I sit? I should have already had a plan. But in light of not being prepared, I came up with a plan. Most importantly, I needed a quiet place.

Where do I sit?

I opted for my office in the basement in the hope that I would be able to concentrate and meditate in quiet.  

As a writer, I have learned to set the stage for a promising and productive writing day. In light of that, I decided to follow suit with my Spiritual quest, and turned on a small fountain in the corner, put on wellness music, (I can’t listen to worship music because I want to sing along), and sprayed the room with essential oils. With my bible in hand, a new notebook, and my reading glasses, I was ready.

But, in this situation, once I sat at my desk, something didn’t feel right. After a few minutes, I was finally able to put my finger on it,

My desk is where I write, and I had a lot I needed to doI. I needed to get away from my desk to truly feel the presence of God. Instead of sitting at my desk, I found a spot on the floor where I could lean against the wall. I got comfortable sitting next to the soothing sound of the fountain.

Insight

With my bible in front of me, I took a few deep breaths, closed my eyes, and began to pray inviting God to direct my thoughts. After a bit, I stopped talking and listened for whatever God had in store for me.

Things go awry

The music was too loud, I got up and turned it down. Again, I sat back down and after a couple of deep breaths I closed my eyes, trying to turn my attention to the matter at hand.

My novel came into my mind. And tears welled up in my eyes. I just continued to talk to Him, telling Him all that I felt vulnerable about, and began to cry more. It felt good to release all the tension I was feeling inside.

In essence, talking to God about my book touched my heart. No tissue nearby. I got up and retrieved a box of tissues from my desk and sat back down, feeling somewhat aggravated having disturbed my peace for tissue, Settling back against the wall, I closed my eyes again.

In reality, I’ve had questions about my overwhelming need to write a book ever since I began writing seriously two years ago. My question is – is my passion to write from God or is it of my own desires?  

Writing is a very lonely endeavor I’ve come to find out. Most days, I sit alone at my computer and try to create meaningful characters and a good storyline. It’s very hard to express the things I dream up inside my head and put them on paper so that others can see my vision.

I’m sure my family and friends are tired of hearing me talk about it, so given this, I try very hard to reserve my writing passion for my readers.  

As a Result

I think its the reason why I cried so hard. God was willing to listen for as long as I wanted to talk about it, and I took full advantage and asked Him if my passion was from Him.   

Through various scriptures and prayer, He gave me an understanding that He is indeed the One who put writing on my heart.

I tried to listen for anything else He wanted to say to me that first morning of my Spiritual Journey, but nothing more came.

• Side Note: If the concept of hearing God is uncommon for you let me explain – I haven’t heard God’s actual voice. It’s more of a feeling that comes into my soul. Something strong that I sense as I read His Word and pray. A prompting from the Holy Spirit if you will.

Encouragement

Sensing it was time to move on from listening, I opened a daily reading devotional, I’d planned to use in my Spiritual Journey Day 1. I’d hoped the reading for the day would help me to continue moving forward with what God wanted me to hear.   

Although, my head still pounded I managed to read the day’s reading.  

Paraphrased – “You can achieve a victorious life through living in deep dependence on God. Those who are successful in their own strength tend to go their own way, forgetting about God. It is through problems and failure, weakness, and neediness, that you learn to rely on Him.”                                                                                                      

 Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young

Hope

The above quote was what I needed to hear. It gives me hope that I’m doing what He’s called me to do.

I yearn for a deep dependence on Him. Most days I’m in desperate need for Him. Seeking His face means I can no longer do life on my own. I must include Him in my daily life.

He cares about my dreams and desires, He created me and put them there. It’s okay that I follow my passion.  

My book and writing weren’t at all what I thought God would put on my heart to ponder that first morning. In truth, He had something He wanted to teach me.

Sitting back I thanked God for touching my heart and showing me that He is near. So far so good in my Spiritual Journey

Day 1.

Discovery

My time seeking God’s face this morning didn’t go as planned. Too many distractions. It’s time to get into a rhythm.

Hopefully, I’ve worked out the kinks and tomorrow I won’t wake up with a headache. I’ll have pen in hand, and ready to write down anything the Holy Spirit wants to put on my mind.

God IS behind my writing and wants me to have a deep dependence on him through it all; my book, blogs, emails, short stories, all of it. 

Conclusion

Spiritual Journey Day 1 was a success!

Having a clearer expectation for tomorrow, and remembering my goal is to draw nearer to the One I seek, I leave the day with peace.    

And I want to leave you with a couple of scriptures to ponder from my Spiritual Journey Day 1  

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”         

Psalm 34:17-18

“We live my faith, not by sight.”                                                                  

2 Corinthians 5:7

Feel free to email me at angela@angelamillercurtis.com. I would love to hear from you.

Until we meet again, you may enjoy reading another blog post – https://angelamillercurtis.com/what-is-my-purpose-in-life/

Until next week,

Angela