Does your spiritual life sometimes seem more like a burden than a blessing? Does your spirituality seem to exhaust you as often as it refreshes you? Have your spiritual practices become “just another thing to do” in an already overcrowded, stress-filled schedule? If so, then you need to simplify your spiritual life.
We should expect part of true spirituality to exhaust us, for it exists not merely for our own edification, but also to serve the glory and purposes of God. Jesus’ spiritual labors occasionally so fatigued Him that He could remain asleep in an open boat in the middle of a lake during a life‑threatening storm (see Luke 8:22-25). Likewise, the apostle Paul knew the depletion of inner resources that results from the willingness to “spend and be spent” for the sake of the souls of others (2 Corinthians 12:15). All aspects of externalized spirituality—serving people’s needs, doing good works, taking the gospel to the spiritually lost, working in church ministries—expend the reserves of both body and soul.
There’s a problem, though, when the inflow of spiritual renewal doesn’t replenish the outflow of spiritual ministry. Our spiritual life should be the source of inner re-creation and restoration since it is the way we most directly experience the Lord Himself in daily life. Through our biblical spiritual disciplines (rightly motivated and practiced) come many of the most refreshing blessings of knowing Christ.
An example of how the spiritual disciplines can be an ongoing means of reinvigorating the soul is depicted in Psalm 1:2-3. Frequent meditation on (and not just reading) God’s Word so continually refreshes the meditator that, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
However, as everything else in our lives becomes more complex, so can our spirituality. As one writer observed, “The pattern of overinvolvement, clutter, and busyness that is a part of our lives at home and at work will follow us into our spiritual lives unless we are vigilant.”[1] With increasing prosperity and technology come increasing opportunities and options—even in our spiritual practices—that weren’t available a short time ago.
For instance, instead of simply sitting in a comfortable chair by a sunny window with our Bible, journal, and pen, now we can:
- Receive daily devotional readings by email.
- Read the Bible (or have it read to us) on our digital devices in almost any translation on the Internet
- Have prayers composed for us by AI.
- Make journal entries on our devices by typing or merely speaking, inserting photos or interesting graphics along with the text.
- Infuse our devotional experience with worship-enhancing audio and/or video.
- Hear our favorite Bible teachers on podcasts.
But it all needs to be done faster than ever before because of the strangling demands on our time.
The growing frustrations of hurry and complexity affect the practice not only of our personal spiritual disciplines, but also of our interpersonal spiritual disciplines (the ones we practice with other Christians). There’s less time for church involvement than previously, and yet there are more church activities to choose from. We’re so far behind in so many things that sometimes we wonder if participation in our church community is worth the effort required just to get there.
In some ways we’re doing more than ever spiritually, but enjoying and profiting from it less. Many areas of our lives are productive and prosperous, yet we’ve never felt so spiritually withered. Our calendars are full, but our souls are empty.
The time has come to evaluate whether what we are doing in our spiritual lives is taking us where we want to go. There is hope. Read on.
[1] H. Norman Wright, Simplify Your Life (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale, 1998), p. 181.
