“Abba! Father!”
How do you assess your own spiritual health? Many times, especially during this latest phase of the pandemic, I have asked people: how are you doing spiritually? The answer usually takes the form of: “I’m doing well, I’ve been keeping up with my Bible reading plan.” Or “Not great. I haven’t read my Bible for a while and I just feel a little ‘uggh’ and unmotivated.”
It’s fascinating to me that the church has taught us the way to measure our spiritual health is either by: a) the amount of Scripture we’ve read b) how we’re feeling at the moment.
Now reading Scripture is important. It’s vital for spiritual health. It is one indicator of how we’re pursuing Christ, but it is not sufficient by itself. For the Pharisees read Scripture. But were the epitome of spiritual un-health.
Our personal feelings too can be a sign that something is amiss. Our dryness may be from sin or self-reliance. Our demotivation could be because we’re binging on Netflix instead of getting into God’s Word. But not necessarily.
Job, in Scripture, is honoured by God for his perseverance (James 5:11) even though he feels dry and desolate: “I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me” (Job 30:20). The Psalms show us that the height of spiritual maturity is not always standing on the mountain tops emotionally, but running honestly to the creator of the mountains even when you’re firmly stuck in the valley. “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” was spoken by two of the most spiritually mature people in history. King David. And Jesus.
In the current social distancing, we may not feel great. I personally feel restless if I’m trapped indoors for too long. But that restlessness isn’t necessarily an indicator of my spiritual health. What I do with those feelings is.
Health from the Spirit
Scripturally, to be spiritual is to be a person of the Spirit. And to be spiritually healthy is to be someone who is allowing the Spirit to so work in their lives that it produces visible fruit.
What does the Spirit do? Jesus says “He [the Spirit] will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14).
JI Packer uses the illustration of walking past a church building at night lit up by floodlights. The purpose of the floodlights is not to draw attention to themselves but to spotlight the building. In the same way, he says, the Spirit is “the hidden floodlight shining on the Saviour.”
To be in good spiritual health is to be allowing the Spirit to redirect your gaze away from your feelings, away from your circumstances onto Christ. To remind you of who he is. Right now. In this pandemic. In whatever circumstances, fears or emotions you are experiencing. He is your strength. He is your comfort. He is your refuge. He is your provider. He is your Lover. He is your hope. He is your healer. He is your gracious Saviour. He is the one who hears. He is the one who sees. He cares for you.
How does the Spirit do that? We’ll elaborate more in our upcoming blogs. But Romans 8:15-16 shows us a couple of ways. It says: “you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
The Spirit:
- causes us to lift our burdens and our eyes to our Father.
- reminds us that we are God’s beloved and secure children.
“Abba! Father!” It is the cry of a helpless child to her Father. It is not a well-articulated, polished prayer. It is a cry of desperation. But it is also a cry of anticipation. I remember hearing friends talk of visiting an orphanage in Romania. Their first comment was: we expected to hear the sounds of screaming babies. But instead it was eerily quiet. Because the children had learnt to be silent, because they knew from experience no one would hear their cry and come to them. But my son cries “Baba” or “Mummy”, all the time. Why? Because he knows that we hear. He knows that we care. He knows that we love him. And he knows we will come when he cries.
In the same way, this season must be one where we learn to cry “Abba! Father!” with our full range of emotions. God wants us to learn the glory of helplessness. We learn not to self-reliantly blaze on through. Or to escape into mindless YouTube watching, sinking in a heap of demotivation. That is how orphans respond. We bring our frustration, our sense of ‘ugghness’ to God. We learn to pray short, real, and direct prayers. Inviting our Father into our circumstances. Not needing him to give us a quick emotional high (although he may), but reminding ourselves that in these moments, we are not orphans who have to go through this alone. We are children adopted by a Heavenly Father who yearns to come to us. We are loved and secure.
And when even that feels a struggle, we ask others to pray for us and together we help carry each other back to our Father.
This is spiritually healthy – this is allowing the Spirit of God to do his work in us. So how are you doing spiritually?