Daily Application January 28, 2010

One of the most liberating discoveries in the spiritual life is learning that God does not need to be complicated. The idea of a Higher Power that is distant, demanding, or hard to access has kept many people from ever truly connecting with one. But what if God could be understood in a way that is simple, practical, and genuinely accessible in every moment of your day?

Keep It Simple

There is a time and a place for asking deep questions about where your life is headed — and that time is not when you are at a low point or in the middle of significant change. When things are turbulent, the temptation is to demand answers, make sweeping decisions, and institute changes that you may not actually want. That is when simple, faithful waiting is the most powerful thing you can do.

Trust in God at those times. Ask for signs about the next steps — just the next steps, not the whole map. Then wait, and trust that those signs will come. Make sure you are looking for them. They will guide you every time. The mistake is asking too deep a question when what you actually need is just the next simple indication of which direction to move.

A God You Can Work With

A Higher Power that actually works in your life is one you can talk to honestly, receive direction from, and trust even when things are not clear. Not a God who demands theological perfection, but One who meets you where you are — in the ordinary moments, in the uncertainty, in the quiet between what was and what is coming.

The three-part understanding of God that many find useful is: God as a loving, guiding intelligence; God as a power greater than your own thinking and willpower; and God as an inner voice that speaks through peace, clarity, and genuine good feeling. When all three of those are accessible to you, you have a Higher Power you can actually use.

Do Not Judge Without Love

One final caution: do not evaluate your life or yourself without love. When you look at where things are right now — particularly in a low moment — you are not seeing clearly. You are seeing through the lens of discouragement, fear, and comparison. Those lenses distort everything. Ask for a more loving view. Ask God to show you your life and yourself the way He sees you. That view is almost always kinder, more spacious, and more hopeful than the one fear produces.

Keep it simple. Trust in God. Do not judge yourself or your life without love. Those three things, practiced daily, will carry you through more than any elaborate spiritual system ever could.