Spiritual Life Skills for Any WorkplaceНамуна

I’ve always loved the title of the classic book by Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God. As he asserts, it’s not enough to just know about God; we need to be in intimate daily fellowship with Him. 

That’s the key to being the kind of leaders who bear fruit in their work. And this doesn’t apply to just pastors and spiritual leaders; it also applies to leaders of every kind. Our first priority should be to experience a deep and abiding friendship with God.

A hunger within each of us is satisfied only by God, and our openness to Him and our receptivity to His love and leading are the foundation for our spiritual life. Jesus said, “He who has ears, let him hear” (Mark 4:9). He knew that, before we could really comprehend His teaching, we had to be willing to hear. Spiritual receptivity is born out of an attitude of willingness, especially a willingness to listen. Our actions indicate our openness to God’s agenda, but they’re the result of a posture of wanting to hear.

God is always waiting to enter our hearts, and our gratitude and humility open the door. Then, as we start to pay serious attention to His voice, the Holy Spirit infuses our hearts with insight, and we can live in obedience and bear fruit.

A deeper spiritual understanding of the ways of the Lord isn’t reserved for pastors and spiritual leaders. It’s not to be achieved only by a select group of “professional” Christians. It can be achieved by anyone who wants to find it. In fact, sometimes the vocation of ministry can be a stumbling block because we who are called to it sometimes rely on what we know rather than on who we know. In Matthew 13:15, Jesus refers to those who have callous hearts—the people who cannot see and be healed until they turn to Him, until they become vulnerable to Him. Professional expertise is no replacement for depending on Jesus.

Spiritual receptivity means submitting to the Holy Spirit’s prodding in order to preempt my pride. I need to be humble. Instead of just depending on the latest data or how wise and knowledgeable I think I am, I must process everything through prayer. Praying opens up my perspective to see things the way God sees them and to do things the way God would do them.