Self-Examination is a Courageous and Faithful Spiritual Discipline

Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.
~Lamentations 3:40, KJV ~

Both busyness and mind-numbing activities are ways to avoid self-reflection. Self-reflection runs against the grain of a busy culture. It requires us to set specific time aside to be quiet, still, and alone. From this place, you can begin to prayerfully enter the presence of God and begin processing what has been going on in your life.
Alyssa Kirkman, MS, LMHC

If you were to take a moment and settle down in a quiet space and reflect on the happenings of your life – how will it appear to you? Reflecting on the moments where you have experienced troubles, struggled, failed, experienced shame and guilt, anxiety, depression, insecurity, worry, anxiety, and anger. What if you were to take this moment of self-reflection as if you were examining someone else and how they lived their lives this past year? How will such a life appear to you?

Great courage and resilient faith requires us to take that moment and reflect on our lives. We do this by removing any self-justifications. Taking an honest approach of looking at the facts. Answering the questions: Was there anything I have said or done that was in haste, anger, or desperation that made my struggles worse? Are there things in my life that I now regret?

Great courage and resilient faith requires us to take that moment and reflect on our lives.

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Ask any person engaged in a 12-step based recovery program and they may share with you that taking a fearless and moral inventory of their lives was probably the most raw and heart wrenching experience. Yet, without this – there is no growth or change in our lives. We continue to engage in the same way of living day-after-day.

Being of good cheer is not only courageous and requires a resilient and bold faith. Being of Good cheer begins by self-reflection and examination. It is through this powerful moment of quieting our thoughts, settling down from the hectic schedules, and take that moment to reflect on our day and record what we may have thought, felt, said, and acted upon in order to turn to God with a clear conscious. This moves us toward mindful self-awareness of how we continue to grow and strengthen in our resolve to live each day with courage, faith, and joy. It also empowers us to see where we failed to live faithfully through Jesus Christ in order to make necessary changes so we are not making the same mistakes.

Today’s Prayer and Meditation

Heavenly Father, I seek thy counsel, strength, and wisdom to reflect on my life. Open my eyes to the things where I have failed to minister, where I have transgressed, and help me with the courage to seek reconciliation and forgiveness toward those I have offended. Open my heart to receive correction and resolve to learn from those experiences. Help me grow in my faith and joy in Jesus Christ, Amen!