Are you afraid of change? Many people say that they are, and many organizations are often held back because people baulk at change. But is it change they are afraid of or simply the unknown? Is it change or the impact on them personally? Is it change or the moving away from what has become comfortable?

No matter what way you phrase it, I find that many in general are slow to adapt to new realities or to adopt new ways of living.

And yet, when it comes to forming our selves spiritually, I’d like you to consider change. Not simply change for the sake of change, but change with the intention of stretching “spiritual muscles” the you haven’t stretched in a long time or perhaps never knew you had or maybe muscles that you gave up on thinking that you really didn’t need them.

The change I am talking about is a change to what I like to refer to as Spiritual Disciplines. You may recognize these as prayer, scripture reading and study, service, solitude, etc.

Like all people, you have your preferred array of spiritual disciplines that you engage in. For many people this would include some sort of bible intake (reading a passage and thinking about it, reading a devotional, listening to a message), prayer (by yourself at a set time, mini-prayers throughout the day, weekly with a prayer group), and perhaps a time of worship through singing (typically at a church service although this could include a time of playing a worship CD and basking in the experience).

And though these routines are good, and I recommend maintaining them, how about trying something new? How about experimenting with a discipline that is completely outside of your comfort or personality style?

One discipline that I have experimented with over the past few years is solitude – being by myself with no distractions or people to interact with. Dallas Willard pushed me to try this with his definition of solitude when he said that it is simply “giving up your kingdom.” You give up control of a time. During this time you have no agenda – you don’t read, you don’t listen to music, you don’t even pray – you simply exist with nothing. If you are like me, this can be painful. I am a doer by nature. To sit still for 2 hours doing nothing seems like 5 weeks. And yet, the idea of “giving up my kingdom”, not having any agenda for a period of time and allowing God to show up in a unique way “if He so desires”, is a way to recognize that this life is not about me, that I can’t allow myself to be a slave to anything but God, whose “yolk is easy and whose burden is light.”

A year ago, I went on a 4 day retreat at a friend’s cottage – Sunday through Wednesday. It was only me. In addition to the loneliness, I also engaged in the discipline of fasting – I love food not matter the type. My time was not just void, I had significant times of prayer, read a book, memorized Psalm 101, kayaked around a lake, and simply enjoyed nature. Yet, I was by myself, no one to talk to – just God and the birds and squirrels around the cottage. I can tell you that by Wednesday I was exhausted (and hungry), it was a draining experience. Now for some I know, that experience would have been completely the opposite, it would have energized them – we are all different.

So do I simply stick with what I know, with what “works for me” or do I allow myself to venture into spiritual disciplines that will take me to new places and stretch me in new ways? I can tell you that God showed up during that time at the cottage. I was able to intercede in prayer in ways that I had not done in a long time. Memorizing Psalm 101 and playing around with it in my mind continues to impact my life even to this day. Had I not determined to venture into uncommon territory, I would not have experienced this.

So will I, or should I engage in solitude regularly – I know that I haven’t. It isn’t my natural bent, and yet I still find time on occasion to be silent for an hour or two, to “give up my kingdom.”

So I leave this challenge with you. As we approach the fall, a time of renewal and new beginnings, will you be willing to step into a new spiritual discipline? Will you allow yourself to walk in uncharted territory? Will you be willing to submit yourself to a different way of approaching your spiritual growth?

As leaders of others, it is our responsibility, or can I say privilege, to lead the way into new ways of approaching life so that we can better assist those we are walking alongside.

Change is good for the soul, we simply need to be courageous to go there.

Blessings as you embrace a new reality.

For the kingdom.