I was standing in line at Starbucks waiting to order when I felt the vibration from my phone telling me I had a new text message. Waiting was inevitable as I looked towards the cashier counting multiple heads in front of me so I pulled out my phone to see who had text me.
The text was from a sweet young woman making her living in San Francisco teaching elementary kids. I was surprised to be getting a text message from her and looking up seeing the same number of heads, I knew I had time to read it.
I opened the text and as I read through it, my eyes moistened and chill bumps flooded my arms and legs. Looking up to see if my body was drawing attention to itself and to check my line status, I quickly re-read the text.
Why Did She Text Me?
Even though this was a random text from my sweet young friend it had purpose. She had taken to heart a challenge to improve her spiritual diet, to rethink her time with the Lord by being intentional to nourish her soul. She text me about how rethinking and being intentional had transformed her relationship with God!
Improving her Spiritual diet meant making time with the Lord daily. It meant she was going to first just sit and ask Him to lead her and wait for His response. It meant slowing down and savoring her time with Him.
She text me to thank me and to let me know that she had taken my advice. Advice that I gave when I spoke at a women’s tea several months back that she and her mom had attended.
From her faithful intentions and effort to grow closer to Jesus, she wanted to tell me that she has never experienced this kind of intimacy with Jesus before and went on to say how amazing it has been as God speaks and teaches her through His Word! Woo Hoo!!! Yeah God!!
So What’s the Secret to Spiritual Transformation?
Going back to the sweet text from my friend she wanted me to know that the Lord was transforming her as she asked, waited and listened so that when she read His Word her heart was open to seeing and hearing what God had for her each day. It brought her so much joy that she couldn’t help but share that joy with me and it was evident that the secret to our spiritual transformation has nothing to do with us on our own efforts and everything to do with spending time with Jesus reading His Word.
Because we cannot and never will be able to transform spiritually on our own. We have to be intentional about spending time with Jesus intimately. That means, like my sweet friend, making time to get to know Jesus through reading His Word daily. That means, asking God to show you and teach you what it is He has for you each day so you are living life from His grace, His love, His mercy, His peace and His strength because in this hard world we can’t do it on our own or in our own strength. That means finding a community of people who are looking to transform their hearts spiritually too and doing life together. That means making your spiritual health a priority.
The Goal of Spiritual Transformation
Spiritual Transformation is not behavior modification it is heart transformation. Behavior modification is changing your behavior to appease others or act a certain way in front of others and this is not heart transformation. I know this because I lived it for many years as an approval addict looking to please others so they would like me, want me and need me. It is exhausting and it never leads to heart change.
Spiritual transformation is not modifying our behavior by self protecting. Some of us have built up stone walls of protection around our hearts and a cynicism about all things faith. Self protection is a dangerous and lonely dead end road. Self protection is us taking control and not allowing God to heal our past hurts. God wants to be the protector of our hearts and His Word promises us that he will remove our hearts of self protecting stone giving us a new heart and spirit!
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26
Only God can transform our hearts and we have His promise that He will give us a heart transplant. A heart transplant that changes us from the inside out!
Make Time for Jesus Daily
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
When you make Jesus your number one priority on your today to do list you are working towards the goal of heart transformation just like my sweet friend. You are learning to live your life for an audience of one and not living to appease or to seek approval of others. When you let Jesus nourish your soul daily He will tear down the walls of self protection as you trust Him to heal your pain. When you seek intimacy with Jesus daily, waiting for Him to guide your thoughts and next steps, you are making your spiritual health a priority and you are improving your spiritual diet!
As I responded to her text I was grateful that she shared with me her experience of transformation through being intentional about creating a daily habit to deeper intimacy with Jesus. I was grateful that what God had purposed through my words that day was a blessing to her as she faithfully sought to draw closer to Him. Reading her text brought me so much joy!
Next Step to Intimacy with Jesus
What will you do to improve your spiritual diet? Leave me a comment so we can all encourage each other as we seek to grow closer to Jesus.
When your heart has been transformed by Jesus, you can’t help but share it with others and joy is multiplied.
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