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+-- Forum: Spirits and the Spiritual (https://rogue-nation.com/mybb/forumdisplay.php?fid=81)
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+--- Thread: Spiritual awakening and Spiritual gifts (/showthread.php?tid=2521)
Spiritual awakening and Spiritual gifts - FlickerOfLight - 12-28-2024
I'm going to approach this with my usual style. This is something that is an individual experience, and plays out differently in each one of us. I'd like to take a moment and explain the idea of spiritual journeys and awakening and all of the blessings and gifts that come along with this process.
I found spirituality while going through a religious path. It started one day when I decided I wanted to read the entire Bible. After accomplishing this a year later, I was immediately hungry for more. As I continued on spending time in the word of God my love and interest in him grew and grew as the years went on with my head buried in God's word. The more I read the more fascinated with our Lord, and His kingdom I became. They said this was me hungering and thirsting for God. This was true. I spent years studying and being active within a church. I followed the religious order, and it kept feeling like a noose around my neck, in terms of holding me back from progressing in my own personal relationship and growth with God. It was if the elders weren't in the same place as I was in the understanding of it all. I spent a few years arguing, discussing, debating and picking apart scriptures with others. I spent 2 years in Biblical studies and ministry learning to hone this craft of "arguing scriptures," or that's at least what it felt like to me. I leaned more into my personal relationship with God, and a question came up about the spiritual gifts that I didn't accept as truth. I studied the scriptures for a few months, looking at the gifts as my primary thought. I wanted to understand, and what others were seeing, wasn't what I was seeing. This came to a prayer. I asked the Lord for his knowledge. I knew that I had a conclusion drawn up, but I also knew I could be wrong, and so I did ask the Lord to "show me" what the answer was. A week or so later, I got an answer.
It came in the form of a "spiritual experience." One where I was in prayer and worshiping and praising the Lord in my home, in private.
This was not at all what I was expecting, and through this experience I was taught how wrong I was, and how I was blind to the spiritual side of this. I saw a glimpse into the literal kingdom kf heaven; here on earth; while in the flesh.
Fortunately for me I did have guides, that are trusted and understood what had happened to me.
I will not share the experience again, but I will say that these trusted people (prominent leaders of the church) told me that I had been baptized with the Holy Spirit.
But, there was doubt amongst them, and even within myself. The experience was the most beautiful experience I had ever felt. I felt the most powerful love one could ever imagine. I do not possess the words to describe this experience. I can say that I fell even more in love with the Lord.
I went into a long study and meditation on what had happened to me.
This was the beginning of my spiritual journey.
This is actually more simple than it seems, yet takes a profound strength that not many people possess.
First...
Humble yourself.
Forgive everything.
Learn to walk in peace; not arguing with anyone. Be at peace with yourself, and you will be at peace with others.
Show mercy when mistakes are made.
Be kind.
Seek love.
Seek knowledge and wisdom.
Learn to control yourself, even down to your breathing and heart rate.
Confess your sins.
Repent.
Seek the kingdom of heaven first.
And all these things will be added unto you.
Which leads me to spiritual gifts.
First came insight, but that can only be experienced.
I have learned that I am actually a healer. Not in the sense that you would think tho. I cannot lay my hands on people and make the lame walk, or the blind see. But, I can empathize with people on a level of understanding that brings people peace simply because another human being understands what they're going through, authentically care for them and empathize, even to the point of crying with them. I have watched many of hearts be healed simply by loving someone in this way. The Holy Spirit gives me guidance that I pass along to these people, and by this guidance I have watched people get out of bad situations, or better there situations, even if it's merely bringing them to an understanding of their own.
This heals hearts and minds.
Empathy is a gift from God. Authentic Empathy. Guided by the Ultimate Comforter; The Holy Spirit.
God has blessed me with the ability to help heal broken hearts and minds. This is his gift. I am only the vessel.
I wasn't even aware that this was a God given gift, and one that I was using everywhere I went. Sometimes it was little things. Sometimes huge. I only ever did what I was compelled to do. Not realizing that I'm actually doing the "Lord's work" by doing this.
My point is this:
These gifts can be simple, and easily overlooked, yet powerful when you receive and use these gifts. These gifts don't have to be as grand as the way they've been described. I simply, but deeply care, and come to find out this is the source of the gift.....love.
I am here to testify that simply caring, empathizing, and being there for others in an emotionally supportive way is a rare gift. People pay good money to therapist just for this purpose. Myself included.
What I'm learning from my therapy is that I am actually going to be the one that "heals myself" through that process. The same love and comfort I've received as a gift to help others will be the same Source that helps to heal me from within.
When we are walking in this manner, and we are free from things like anger strife jealousy envy self glorification etc etc then we free our spirits and once we have cleansed ourselves, both externally through changing old toxic behaviors and start to walk in the ways described above this cleans our temple. When we confess our sins and repent, and forgive everything then we clean our spirits. By cleansing both the insights into the ancient questions of God and His kingdom will start to will start to enlighten you, as you take that journey of self discovery and purpose.
Within all of this, and for my story, I have found my purpose within everything I've described here.
The suffering we go through is making us stronger and more and more appreciative. Struggles are their own blessings.
This is what I've been trying to convey, through my different and sometimes erratic ways.
This journey has brought peace love joy and comfort that I had never known. These were ideas I didn't know were real. I was robbed of these things growing up.
God blessed me a thousand fold to what I lost.
And it all started with a spiritual awakening.
Thanks for reading.
Have a happy New Year, Rogue-Nation. May you be blessed in all your endeavors this coming year.
~~Cheers~~
RE: Spiritual awakening and Spiritual gifts - Michigan Swamp Buck - 12-30-2024
Count your blessings and thank the Lord, but never be afraid to ask the hard questions, esp. in prayer. It's good to share ideas during a fellowship, but we're all just humans and we don't have all the answers, far from it.
RE: Spiritual awakening and Spiritual gifts - F2d5thCav - 12-31-2024
At Flicker--
I like your list of things to do; it resembles something I wrote a while back called "The Rules".
But as to confessing. To whom? Certainly, not the clergy ... they're just functioning as intel agents in that role.
The conclusion I have come to is that is okay to confess to one's self. Be true to yourself and make yourself speak the confession of wrong having been done as well as acknowledgment that it -was- not a good thing to do or say. That goes a long way towards self-correction of unworthy behavior and speech.
Cheers--
RE: Spiritual awakening and Spiritual gifts - FlickerOfLight - 12-31-2024
(12-31-2024, 03:24 PM)F2d5thCav Wrote: At Flicker--
I like your list of things to do; it resembles something I wrote a while back called "The Rules".
But as to confessing. To whom? Certainly, not the clergy ... they're just functioning as intel agents in that role.
The conclusion I have come to is that is okay to confess to one's self. Be true to yourself and make yourself speak the confession of wrong having been done as well as acknowledgment that it -was- not a good thing to do or say. That goes a long way towards self-correction of unworthy behavior and speech.
Cheers--
I see it as a philosophy that when you make a mistake, you're going to have to swallow your pride, put your ego aside, and admit it to yourself first. I usually go straight to prayer and ask God to forgive me. Finally we find the person we have wronged, and we make that amends anyway we can. Depending on how we've wronged the individual. Simply making it right. Balancing things back to what they should be.
That's the way I see that.
RE: Spiritual awakening and Spiritual gifts - Michigan Swamp Buck - 01-01-2025
If humans weren't social animals but "lone wolf" style predators, we wouldn't have the same guilt responses to how we treat others of our species.
Self-preservation, food, and reproduction would be our greatest concerns when interacting with our own kind. The potential threat of a direct competitor would likely overrule any regard for the survival of said competition or the perpetuation of the overall species.
We would be driven by the most basic instincts that would tip the balance of a given situation regarding the welfare of our fellow humans vs our own. Giving in to these primal instincts would likely produce the same resolution of guilt in the lone predator as restitution would for humans with a conscience. I will even propose that the lone predator would feel gratification, even pleasure when eliminating his competition with direct violence.