The Path to Renewal
Are you following the path of renewal?
Verse of the Day
“Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.”
Today’s Devotional
We have just spent a month exploring spiritual renewal. As I have been practicing what I’m learning through this study, I can see a difference. My normal routine at the beginning of a new year is to focus on my outsides. And I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. But it’s not the best thing. My outsides only truly change when I allow God into my insides to change me from the inside out.
The following list is a set of stepping stones on the path of Godly renewal. Some of these steps might be more vital for you than others. For me, it has centered around time. I have mistakenly believed that my time was best spent being as productive as I possibly could. I was spending time with God each day, but it was not always quality time, and some days it wasn’t much time at all. However this month, I have spent more time with God than before, and I have actually accomplished WAY more than I used to. I have sought God’s guidance more about how I use my time. Basically, God is renewing my outlook about the time that He has given me.
Here are the steps we can take, based on Biblical wisdom, to be renewed by God on our spiritual journey.
- We recognize that all cleansing and renewal comes from God, not our striving.
- We are able to be renewed because of the finished work of Jesus. This is cause for gratitude and faith.
- We must not conform to the world’s way of doing things.
- We make time and space for God to transform our thinking.
- The wisdom from God must be “put on” each day, just like we put clothing on our bodies.
- We engage the Word of God.
- We need to slow down.
- We meditate, which puts us in a place to allow God to fill our minds with His love and wisdom.
- We remove distractions.
- We make God our number one priority.
- We make time and space for the Spirit to work in us.
- We embrace the desire for God to renew us.
- We remember that God, in His mercy and love, completely blots out our mistakes through the sacrifice of Jesus.
- We agree with God through genuine confession and repentance.
- We become willing to get honest with God about our underlying motivations.
- We come to God for cleansing.
- We realize and embrace that conviction of our sin is part of the process.
- We become willing to repeatedly obey whatever God is asking us to do.
- We actively praise God, no matter our circumstances.
- We come before God with a humble heart.
- We make tiny amounts of progress each day to give God access to our minds, hearts, and souls.
- We are intentional about what we think about.
- We keep practicing.
- We admit when we don’t know what to do.
- We are always building and strengthening our foundational beliefs.
- We take the time to examine our spiritual journey.
That’s quite a few steps. But God does not require that we take them all at once. He wants us to be WITH Him on the journey. Which is probably the point. The more steps we take in obedience, the more time we set aside to be with God, the more He will faithfully renew us.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Which steps in the renewal process are easiest for you? Celebrate those victories as blessings from God.
Which steps need more attention? What can you do today about that?
What’s your next step?
Do you trust God to be with you on the journey?