Over Winter Interim I took a class called Spiritual Leadership. Essentially the class was about having your own spiritual leader and why in addition to being someone else's spiritual leader. There was a lot of inner reflection, discussion of how we tap into our spiritual side and conversations about growing comfortable in the chaos, out of control. Long story short, it was a great class.
Because it was a week-long class, it is offered as a Pass/Fail - no letter grade given. The requirements for passing were attendance, participation and a reflection paper due prior to grades being due for Spring classes, that's this Friday. So, I am - with pleasure actually - powering through the required readings and incorporating some of the thoughts into my reflections and digestion of the course materials since December. Therefore, I'm reading The Meandering Way.
The theme of the book, seems so far, to be about listening to the Spirit and letting it guide you. In the second chapter, Gary A Shockley walks you through some basic steps of discernment - Listening, Waiting, Reflecting, Acting and Awe. Each are well spelled out and accessible to anyone believing in a relationship with a higher being.
That's where it loses me. What if one is not "attuned" to a higher being? Shockley talks about the Israelites wandering in the wilderness and the provision of manna everyday by God. Shockley's blunt explanation of the situation moved me, "Tomorrow God would provide - again. They couldn't make it happen." My faith in God agrees with that, which shakes me to my core. There are people in this world that I care deeply about, that I pursue relationships with, and actively engage - but what if they're not listening?
So, here's my question...I believe in a sovereign God, One who is in everything. I believe that if God wills something to happen it will. But, God gave us free will. And, Shockley's book very clearly spells out a need to listen and discern to live a path with God. Where do these two concepts meet? And, if you don't believe in a Christian God but a higher being, my question remains. How does one follow the path expected of him/her if they're not seeking to follow a path from God, YHWY, Divine Being, Fate, etc?
