The Journey - Life With God
Greetings!
Welcome to The Journey!
I hope you will join us as we seek to know God better and experience more of His life and love. I will be sharing ideas and Christian Spiritual Practices to help deepen our journey of faith with God.
My own journey has included bursts of growth, seasons of stagnation, disappointment, revelation, and longing for more of what God promises in His Word. At times, God’s promises have seemed far off, unattainable, and only for a few extra special “godly” people. I wondered, if faith in God promises so much, why do I struggle to experience it?
I’ve heard others say similar things like-
Is this all there is?
Why do I struggle so much?
Why am I bored with my faith?
I’m trying to do all the right things… why isn’t it working?
For many years, I felt that there must be more. More than going to church (which is a good thing!), more than reading my Bible (which is a wonderful practice!), more than memorizing scripture, being sure to pray each day, serving (each of which are wonderful, important, and not to be ignored!). What was the “more” I sought?
As I sat with this question, it became clear: I wanted more of God. More love, more joy, more peace… more Fruit of the Spirit. I also realized that the way I was living out my faith was not leading me there. All the good things I was doing were not to be abandoned; absolutely not. It was more about how I was doing them.
I was doing them alone. Without God. For God, many times. For other people, many times. But not with God. I had committed to yielding to God and following Jesus. I wanted to become more Christlike. But I was still trying to do the “right things” so I could get the “right results.” The American “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” way of doing things had sneaked into my faith, and it wasn’t working.
A New Perspective
I needed to reorient my view of God. I was surprised to learn that the God of the Bible was not the one I was taught, nor the one I imagined Him to be. Trevor Hudson, author of Seeking God, Renovare Institute faculty member, and my spiritual formation teacher, says - God really is “bigger than we can imagine, better than we can believe, and closer than we can hope.” (1)
A more accurate view of God transforms my view of myself. He calls me Beloved. He calls me Friend. As we lean into being disciples (apprentices) of Jesus, we can know Him better and learn to grasp that we are dearly loved. He invites us on this journey with Him.
While I have been on a slow journey to know God better for many years, my growth accelerated over the last year and a half as a Renovare Institute student. The Renovare Institute is a 2 year certificate program in Christian Spiritual Formation. (2) My experience there has led me through a deep consideration of Biblical truths that is transforming my view of God, myself, the journey to become more like Christ, and to live with God.
Looking Ahead
Over the next six months, I’ll share some of the most profound things I have learned and experienced. My hope is that your soul will be refreshed and your relationship with God will deepen. I continue to explore all the topics as well, so I am on this journey with you.
The Journey blog is a path we can take together, as companions on this journey with God.
Before We Head Out
A few things to know… You can start any time. If you join now, there are more fellow travelers along the path. New companions are always invited. This is God’s invitation to you; He welcomes you anytime.
You don’t need to pack anything, or train beforehand. This journey is our training. As disciples and apprentices of Jesus, we are learning as we go. We are looking to our master, Jesus, and seeking to do the things He does.
A few things are helpful.
Your Bible will be a sure help and place to meet God.
A long view. As followers of Jesus, our destination is already assured. We will live with Him forever in Heaven.
Hope. We can experience more of God’s Kingdom now. We are learning to be more aware of God’s Kingdom and His presence.
Your attention. God is always with us, speaking, present, and loving us right where we are. We can grow to experience more of His love, even as we go about our day.
Our journey here may take the shape of a map or tour guide. As a map, it helps us know where we are and where we want to go. The map will show us the lay of the land, but not all that will happen along the way. We will avail ourselves of tour guides - the women and men we read in Scripture, as well as godly men and women (ancient and contemporary) who have written wisdom from their own journeys. We can also help each other; sharing a similar experience or pointing out a new discovery. Most importantly, we have God to guide us.
What to Expect
You can expect two blog posts each month, one every other week.
The first blog post will be more educational, with information about an aspect of God and His Kingdom. Perhaps it will be a new idea for you, or it may resonate with your experience. My hope is that you will take time to ponder it. Talk about it. Pray about it.
The second post will be a spiritual practice you are invited to engage in. Spiritual practices are part of the path to becoming more Christlike. They are not the destination. They are more like an entry point, an opening, which gives God space to work in our lives. They are things we choose to do intentionally to make room for God’s movement in us. You might find a couple of friends to share your experience with. I would also love to chat with you.
All of this may be described as “Christian Spiritual Formation.” Our habits, our relationships, our media consumption, our circumstances, the focus of our attention… all these form us, form our spirit. We are always being formed by something. Christian Spiritual Practices are intentional choices to put us in a place to be formed by God. They create space for God’s transformation of us into Christlikeness.
In two weeks, I’ll post a spiritual practice you can engage in!
Let me leave us with this from Matthew 11:28 in The Message -
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
This is Jesus’ invitation to us!
Join us as we seek to know God and ourselves better. And learn to live more fully in His love - loving Him, ourselves, and others.
Looking forward to this journey of spiritual formation in Christlikeness with you!
Footnotes
(1) Trevor Hudson, Renovare Residency Lecture, 9/14/22
(2) If you are interested, here’s a link to the Renovare Institute. There’s a video of our last cohort residency. If you look, you’ll find me in several places!
Additional Resources
Renovare article on Spiritual Formation
Chris Hall lecture on Spiritual Formation (14.5 min)
Dallas Willard article on Spiritual Formation (Willard is a bit heady and also profound)
If you don’t know me already… my name is Anne Greski. I serve as Women’s Ministry Director at Shallowford Church. I am a second-year student at the Renovare Institute, where I am learning how to live and share the deeper journey of Spiritual Formation in Christlikeness. My great desire is to experience friendship with God, and learn to love as God loves.