Vitamins and dietary supplements are all the rage today, due to the lack of quality in much of our food. Our grocery shopping habits lead us to buy processed foods, foods with non-organic additives and produce from corporate farms that are more mindful of dollars than quality. While we continue eating meats, vegetables and other primary foods, more and more we are supplementing these main courses with ingredients that have been stripped from them. It’s a daunting task; the sheer array of choices staggers the mind (specialized stores exist that only sell food supplements), but with a little research and advice, we can usually figure out what we should get.
But, what about our spiritual diet? Far too many believers live in survival mode, eating only the main course of attending church, listening to preaching and perfunctory prayer. These necessities may keep them alive, but they need spiritual supplements to grow and thrive. I compare them to patients in the hospitals versus workers in the factories and offices. You may be technically alive—and not much more than that—but, you need to enhance your soul with some supplements that will give you what you’re missing. Here are some suggestions to get you going.
- Memorize the Word. Committing the Word of God to memory serves as a pantry for your life.
- Manage your days. Avoid sporadic and chaotic consumption of spiritual junk food in your daily life.
- Witness. You have a story to tell. You strengthen and spice up your own life each time you tell it.
- Read a book. Books help you stay fresh, alive, alert and informed.
- Read a daily devotional. A specific thought may be exactly what you need for your spiritual health.
- Subscribe to spiritual magazines. Keep current. Stay plugged in. Trends inform your prayer life.
- Listen to recorded sermons. Hearing the Word exposes you to both the passion and the words.
- Meditate. You read for information and understanding; you meditate for meaning and experience.
- Listen to spiritual music. Music nourishes the soul. It fulfills many emotional needs of your life
- Write or keep a journal. Thoughts are treasures. Unless you preserve them, you will lose them.
- Correspond with a missionary friend. Knowing missionary needs adds a depth to your life.
- Talk about your faith. Dialogue with others will make your life purposeful and inviting.
- Get involved in a ministry. Don’t get isolated and paralyzed. Contributions bring satisfaction.
- Do good deeds. Helping others elevates your own spirit. Accomplishments birth good feelings.
- Encourage. Refrain from negativity. Be a lifter, an encourager, a person who strengthens.
Any or all of these actions will make your world a better place, but they will have an even greater impact on you than others. They will not replace the main course of spiritual meals in your life, but they will make you feel stronger, more alive and more useful in the kingdom of God. Don’t live on life-support. Don’t set your goals at subsistence levels. Live revived and thriving! You should feel challenged, your talents should be tapped to the limits, and your imprint on the world should be the result of all-out living for God!