Moving Forward Is Critical

20 Jan

“If you can’t fly, then run.  If you can’t run, then walk.  If you can’t walk, then crawl.  But whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”  ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

There was a time in my life when I was studying clinical psychology.  Interning at a couple of different mental health centers and psychiatric hospitals, I was able to meet many people who were dealing with rather severe issues.  I met several adults who, because of life circumstances, were trapped in earlier stages of development.  Some even developed severe psychoses or neuroses.

When we do not move forward, we stagnate just like a stream that gets damned up and backs up into mired pools.  If the water cannot move through and bring with it oxygen and other essential properties, the waters will soon turn foul and be unable to support life within.

That same image holds true for our spiritual lives.  We cannot remain the same throughout our lives.  The initial prayers that we learned when we were younger should lead us to more intense prayer and deeper conversation with God.  If we do not have that kind of relationship with Him, our spiritual lives can become stagnant as well.  “Whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”  King had it absolutely correct.

When was the last time you tried a different manner of prayer?  When was the last time you tried silent contemplation?  When was the last time you tried meditation?  Spiritual reading?  Reading from the Bible?  If some of those avenues remain unexplored, your spiritual life might not be as rich as it could be and, therefore, you might not be as close to God as you could be.

Being as close to God as possible is critically important in today’s day and age.  There are so many distractions in the world just waiting to take us from God.  If we do not develop a rich spiritual life, we could end up flagging in the faith even to the point of stagnation and a dead faith life.

Prevent that from happening.  Move forward!

FAITH ACTION:  If you are flagging in the faith, ask God for the grace to keep moving forward.  If you know someone else who is flagging in the faith, pray that they receive the grace that they need to keep moving forward.