We get used to the importance of regular check-ups for our physical health. Visits to the doctor, dentist and other medical practitioners all help us identify health issues before they become a real concern or even life-threatening. But when it comes to our spiritual health, we're not always as vigilant of the warning signs.
But we should be. Just as unattended wounds and undiagnosed illnesses can threaten our physical health, so too can weak areas of our spiritual life have a detrimental effects on our faith.
While we shouldn't obsess over our spiritual growth, it's essential that we keep an eye on which areas are strong, which are weak and how we can work to maintain and improve them respectively.
Even if we're churchgoing, Bible reading and believing Christians, we still need to check in every once in a while. Here are three ways we can do just that.
Make a note of when you feel your faith is failing
Without identifying under what circumstances our faith reaches a low point, we'll struggle to address the issues which are causing it.
Once we know that, for example, watching friend after friend get married while we're perpetually single results in us losing faith that we're loved, we can work to rediscover the benefits of being single as well as God's love for us. Those are just two ways in which this type of faith failure can be tackled.
Or maybe it's a reoccurring physical health problem that has caused our faith to waiver. By specifically studying what God's Word says about the sick and needy, how Jesus healed and welcomed them and how we can be healed today, we can start to build our spirits up to stop physical illnesses from adversely affecting us spiritually.
Pay attention to the things you don't want to do
Does even the thought of worship make you uncomfortable or the idea of taking part in group prayer cause you to attempt to avoid the possibility at any cost?
We might think that our day-to-day faith is quite strong, but when we scratch away at the surface, we can all find areas for improvement. A strong faith should equip us to face all sorts of challenges – those that seem mundane and those that are major. If we're afraid or uncomfortable about doing something that Christ commands us to do to the point that we don't actually end up doing it, then it's as sure a sign as any that we've identified a weak spot in our faith.
Make an appointment to address it
Who can we go to when we need a spiritual check up? Well, the leaders of our churches are all on hand to help us with our spiritual growth so we should feel able to talk to them about how we can monitor and sustain it.
But, just as some people don't want to go to the doctor for various reasons, some won't be confident enough to approach their pastor, priest or vicar at the initial stage.
It's vital that we talk to someone. So if we have a close Christian friend, mentor or relative who we know will be able to give us sound guidance, we can approach them. Talking to another Christian about the weaker elements of our faith will mean that as well as making suggestions centred in Scripture, they can also hold us accountable. And this is crucial.
