They call me the human GPS because when their mechanical GPS fails them, I efficiently reroute our providers in a hurry. Many of our patients live in places foreign to most GPS devices, and after thirty years in this area, there are few places unfamiliar to me. Continuing my Lent journey, the GPS illustration resonated with me as I view Lent as a time for spiritual redirection. Practical recalibrating when you feel spiritually lost, breathes new life into your relationship with God.
Welcome to Mindfulness Monday! Where we learn some easy ways to be more present “in the moment” at our jobs, in our homes, with our families and friends.
Learning to recognize God and what He has for us in each divine moment He offers. We acknowledge the belief that God is with us always.
We confess His presence is available to us, lifting our spirit and helping us with power and grace. Learning the art of “stillness” so we can hear His voice and view ourselves, others and our surroundings through His eyes.
feeling spiritually lost
“Wilderness experiences” provides the buzzword; certainly those times when we wonder where we are in our season of life or how we got here, contribute to a feeling of spiritual disorientation. But at times, we feel just as lost in familiar surroundings; knowing where we are, but wondering where God is.
Lent provides an opportunity for recalibrating when you feel spiritually lost. A time for looking around and evaluating if your course leads closer to God or perhaps farther away from God.
Choices we make determine not only how we walk with God, but if we walk with God.
Whether or not you come into Lent feeling spiritually lost, making time for reflective evaluation reveals your spiritual health. Instead of speeding ahead to your expected destination without checking your course; slow down, look around, and ensure you remain on the correct road.
refresh by spiritually recalibrating
The season of Lent offers us a forty day personal retreat with God. A time for pulling off the highway, grabbing some food and checking the map. Sometimes life’s demands, overcommitment, or thinking we have everything under control, urges us to skip the rest stop, and push forward.
While I have made my share of wrong turns on the highway, none sticks with me more than the time I went over twenty miles out of my way before I stopped to determine what happened.
Though my intuition nudged me several times, I refused looking up and noticing the lack of familiar surroundings, until a city limits sign slapped me into reality. Upon reflection, the biggest factors contributing to my misdirection were: rushing, inattention and pride.
Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.
Mark 6:31
So often the same scenario plays out in my spiritual life. Determined I have the correct course, I rush ahead, without noticing my direction shifted, and refuse to listen to the Holy Spirit nudges.
Lent invites a refreshing pause, beseeching a time of spiritually recalibrating; tuning our hearts to God’s presence, our ears to his voice and entwining our wills with his.
practical recalibrating when you feel spiritually lost
Adopting a slower pace through the forty days of Lent, combined with mindfulness opens a wonderful opportunity for God-directed stillness. Perhaps committing an extra fifteen to twenty minutes each day for simple stillness before the Lord, or change up your regular devotional time to accommodate a time of stillness.
Recalibrating when you feel spiritually lost requires God’s input, not your obsessive tweaking of your schedule, habits or commitments. But God will not trumpet into your day, rather He speaks in the quiet moments of stillness.
Set aside time for simply sitting in God’s presence; no agenda, no prayer requests, no needs, just a desire for communion with Him.
Consider the prompts below prior to the start of your stillness before God. Come into the stillness with a prompt on your mind, but open to the Spirit’s leading. You may spend more than one day on any prompt, avoid rushing. Allow God space for speaking into your life.
mindful preparation for spiritual recalibration
I recommend a five minute mindful break leading into a time of stillness before the Lord, allowing a calm transition from busyness. Engage in slow, deep breathing, with your focus on your breathing. Let thoughts go without latching onto them.
Continuing with slow, deep breathing, prayerfully meditate on one of the prompts below, and when ready, simply shift your thoughts to surrendering your way to God, asking Him to open your heart to His words, then sit quietly.
Grab my FREE Mindfulnes Break Cheat Sheet for instructions on getting the most out of a mindfulness break at the end of this post!
Recalibrating Your Location
“Where are you?” God’s first recorded question directed to Adam after he sinned. Yes, God knew Adam’s location, but did Adam? Apply this question to yourself. Where are you in relation to God?
- Are your actions moving you closer or farther away from God? Sin clearly moves you away from God, but good things move you away too.
- Devotions. Are you stuck? Are you rigid? Lazy? Distracted?
- Activities. Free time; too much or too little time on your hands? Do you seek God’s direction for your free time?
- Commitments. Overcommitted? Has God led you into these commitments? Are there any ministry opportunities God is speaking into your heart? Are you listening?
Recalibrating Obstacles
“What blocks your way to God?” You may uncover a hindrance in your nearness to God in prompt #1, but dig deeper here. Fears, attitudes, approaches hinder as much as habits or activities.
- Evaluate mindsets, opinions, attitudes and habits. The way you think affects both your obedience or disobedience. Mindsets and opinions position you for, or against God’s truths.
- Your view of others. Judgmental? Critical? Exacting? Do you manipulate others to get what you want? Do you view others as Image Bearers? Do you love others more than yourself? Are you stuck in the comparison trap?
- Your view of God. How do you approach God? Do your thoughts honor and reverence Him? How are your praise, gratitude and worship habits?
- Your view of God’s Word. Is God’s Word absolute truth for you? Do you esteem and study God’s Word? Do you obey God’s Word or just parts of it?
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
James 4:8
Recalibrating Your Way
“What one thing will you surrender to be closer to God?” After working through prompts one and two, perhaps God spoke to something you must surrender for deeper intimacy. As I worked through these prompts, it became clear I must surrender “my way” to truly be in The Way with God. That is, I must do things His way, trusting the outcome to Him.
- Evaluate spiritual disciplines, your interactions with God, and your commitment to deeper intimacy with God. Look for habits, and attitudes affecting your approach to God and His sovereignty. Examine your desire to go deeper with Him, trusting Him more.
- Spiritual Disciplines. Is God calling you to change devotional time? Perhaps letting go of your pet methods or changing the way you approach Him through your spiritual disciplines? Do you want God or your routines?
- Interactions with God. What can you leave outside when interacting with God? Expectations? Entitlement? Complaining? Do you enjoy being with God?
- Commitment to Intimacy. Are you committed to seeking Him? What prevents true intimacy with God? Fear? Insecurity? Lack of trust? What would surrender look like for you to obtain intimacy with God?
Lent: an invitation to Recalibrating spiritually
Recalibrating when you feel spiritually lost pivots on drawing near to God. But unless you know your location spiritually in relation to God, you remain lost.
Slowing down, looking around and reflecting on your current path reveals whether you are choosing your way or His way.
Examining obstacles further clears the path to nearness with God. Surrendering the one thing to which you cling the tightest, frees you for a commitment to deeper intimacy with God.
Seeking a time of stillness before Him greatly delights Him and nourishes your soul; recalibrating your heart so that He is your One desire.
Donna, I love the reminder of how important it is to take time to recalibrate spiritually. In this season of life, I find it easy to race ahead to the next thing, the next appointment. Like you, I have driven miles out of the way because I was focused on other things. I don’t want to do that in my relationship with God. Perhaps it’s in those busiest seasons of life that we most need to take time and calibrate our spirits with our Father. Great suggestions!
Jeanne, I get stuck in the racing ahead to the next thing as if getting all the things done (which never happens) somehow gets me to the right place. But in all the rush, my soul sits neglected. I am learning just how life giving stillness can be!
Recalibrating. Such a good metaphor. Of course, I tend to look at life as something to be navigated with spiritual attention, not something to simply drift through on autopilot, so that makes sense. I appreciate your practical and encouraging take on this.
Natalie, such a good view, navigating life with spiritual attention, rather than drifting on autopilot! How rich life becomes when we choose God’s way, and recalibrate when we find we are off track!
“Lent invites a refreshing pause, beseeching a time of spiritually recalibrating; tuning our hearts to God’s presence, our ears to his voice and entwining our wills with his.” Amen. It is a refreshing pause – to our hearts, to our minds, to our souls.
Joanne, I truly look forward to Lent as a pause and time of stillness to truly grow closer to the Lord!
Your use of the word recalibration caught my attention right away, Donna. I heard John Bevere talk about recalibration with Annie F. Downs on her podcast That Sounds Fun, Episode 258. You will love it!
Anyway, I really loved this line from you: “Seeking a time of stillness before Him greatly delights Him and nourishes your soul; recalibrating your heart so that He is your One desire.” Simple and doable!
Jerralea, how cool to think someone else was on the same page with “recalibration”! I enjoy Annie Downs, I’ll have to check out the podcast, thanks for the heads up!
I love Mindfulness Monday. Boy have I ever been spiritually lost many times. Needing to recalibrate indeed. Thank you for these great recommendations. Blessings.
Paula, it just tickles me to know how much you enjoy Mindfulness Mondays! That is such a blessing to me. I know I have been lost spiritually many times too, and am grateful for a rest stop with the Lord!
“Recalibrating when you feel spiritually lost requires God’s input, not your obsessive tweaking of your schedule, habits or commitments. ” I am guilty of that! I think if I change something then I won’t procrastinate, won’t be so tired, will be more energetic and feel better…but it is a time to stop and recalibrate with God. Wonderful post and helpful. Thank you for putting all of this together.
Lynn, I struggle too, with just working to “fix” things myself, but then, I’m not letting God be God! Sometimes we need to stop, to allow God’s will for us space to reveal itself. I’m so pleased you found this post helpful!
‘Set aside time for simply sitting in God’s presence; no agenda, no prayer requests, no needs, just a desire for communion with Him.’
So much richness here, friend. Sometimes we need things spelled out for us, we need to glean from the wisdom from another. Thank you for taking us there.
Linda thank you for your kind words! I learn so much from others and it’s a blessing to grow together. On this journey we need the fellowship of other pilgrims!
Oh, so vital to my walk these days. I truly need recalibrating as I feel that this desert, this wilderness is becoming darker and more difficult to navigate. Closing my eyes and knowing that God is near even when I cannot sense Him near is key. His Presence keeps me warm on a cold and dark night in this hard place. He protects me form satan. He guides my feet along this path even though I feel so lost at times. Thanks for sharing this …just now as I need reminding!
Linda, you are so right, sometimes the way is dark and hard to navigate, but we know His Presence goes with us and protects us. We can lean into Him at any time and just rest when we can’t go on.