A Constant Spiritual Flow

It’s that time of year when we open our damper all the way. Sounds almost painful, doesn’t it—opening our damper? Fear not. It’s just that flap inside our main duct system leading to the upstairs floor vents. We partially close it in the winter to reduce the heat flow (that naturally rises) in the winter, and we open it in the summer to push as much cool air-conditioned air upstairs as possible. We control the flow…

Spiritual Damper

Why do you give a damper about my damper?

Because during one of my recent quiet times, the Lord showed me that I sometimes treat Him like a furnace damper. I try to control the flow of His Spirit according to the season of life or the temperature of my faith.

Perhaps you do the same thing. We open our spiritual damper all the way when we’re in crisis, pleading for more of His Spirit to flow into a situation. Or when I’m in a spiritual desert, I throw open that damper and say, “Please, Lord, blow on my withering spirit!”

Maintaining a Constant Flow

We don’t have to live like Moses. Remember that guy? His spiritual condition was written all over his face!

“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him…When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.”     Exodus 34:29-30,33

Because we live with the indwelling of God’s Spirit as a constant presence, we need not experience an ebbing of His glory as Moses did.

“We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away… Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”   2 Corinthians 3:13,17-18

Practicing an Un-dampered Life

But it requires practice to live in the unrestricted flow of God’s Spirit. I can’t expect to miraculously hear God’s voice in a crisis if I haven’t cultivated the ability to hear Him in ordinary living. I can’t expect to focus in prayer during an especially busy time of year if I haven’t practiced concentrating when my schedule allows for a more relaxed prayer time.

That’s where spiritual disciplines come into play. The book we’ll begin studying on Friday, Sacred Rhythms, talks about a few of these practical “helps” that can become part of our routine. You won’t resonate with all of the methods. Neither will I. But the ones that speak to our hearts are the ones we’ll incorporate into a spiritual routine that will keep our spiritual “dampers” permanently open so that God can set the pace of our relationship.

No more manipulating the spiritual season according to my fickle feelings or unpredictable crises.

With a little spiritual discipline, we can experience an uninterrupted flow of God-initiated enthusiasm. Join me, beginning this Friday (June 5th), as we learn our Sacred Rhythms.

Tweet-A-Licious!

• Never try to control the flow of God’s Spirit according to your season of life or faith.
• To live in the unrestricted flow of God’s Spirit requires practice.
• Join the SACRED RHYTHMS study and be free of human efforts to manipulate spiritual flow.

Today’s Question:

• Have you discovered ways to receive God’s flow more consistently—unaffected by fickle feelings or unpredictable crises?