The professor of my seminar on spiritual formation had included a silent retreat as one of the required activities. On the designated morning, I decided to go to a community park close to where I was staying.
The park did not have many people yet. So I found a spot that was relatively peaceful. There I sought to settle down and quiet my spirit. It still proved to be a challenge, less because of any outside noise and more because of the noise within me. I had to be intentional about letting go of all the concerns bombarding my mind and turning them over to the Lord. I had to approach the Lord with no agenda, and to discipline myself to let him lead my thoughts. The task wasn’t easy. The Lord graciously calmed my spirit.
I then decided to walk the trail that went around the park. As I walked I noticed that there where ten exercise stations set up along the path. Each station had some equipment for some basic exercises—a stretching bench, a sit up/push up bench, overhead ladder, parallel bars, and the like. And the Lord used that as a reminder of the value of the spiritual disciplines for spiritual formation and growth. In these exercise stations I saw a picture of spiritual disciplines as “exercises” to help us along the way in our spiritual journey.
Spiritual advance in godliness or Christlikeness does not happen spontaneously or by accident. The spiritual disciplines are tools that help us in our spiritual development. Merely practicing the disciplines do not make us Christlike, but rather they create the necessary environment for growth to happen. The intentional practice of the disciplines—such as silence, solitude, prayer, worship, fasting, serving, giving—does not make us spiritual. But they train us in godliness and help us to abide in Christ and deepen our communion with him. Each discipline develops a specific aspect of our abiding in Christ. And it’s in our abiding in Christ that spiritual growth takes place.
The apostle Paul reminds us: “Train yourself for godliness. For ‘physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come’” (1 Timothy 4.7–8 NET). For training to be effective and worthwhile, I must push myself beyond what is convenient or comfortable. The idea of training demands purposefulness and repeated practice. Consistent use of the spiritual exercise stations helps me to develop the Christlike character that allows me to respond in a Christlike manner to life’s challenges.
—Keith Y. Jainga