Jan 21
Spiritual Transformation
When These 10 Things Happen, Your Life Will Be Transformed Forever! But It’s Not Going to Be Easy
Spiritual transformation requires a whole new way of seeing the world
To be transformed into the image and likeness of God, we first have to have our minds renewed.
In other words, our thinking has to change to be in line with God’s thinking.
After you become a believer and choose to follow Jesus, you go through a process of transformation that leads to a whole new way of thinking and acting.
This article explains that process.
How can I be transformed?
The first thing you need to do is examine your beliefs.
- What do I really believe in?
- Who am I?
- What do I know about God?
- What is spirituality?
At some point, we all question the meaning of our lives. We become aware of a spiritual dimension and desire to know more about it.
For those of you who have not yet experienced this desire, it’s possible that you are still looking to the world for satisfaction, but the things of the world will never satisfy your soul for long. You will always feel empty and restless until you find rest in God.
Why do we feel so empty inside?
The emptiness we feel in our hearts is the part that needs to be filled by God. The love we experience in the world is conditional and no matter how nice it makes us feel, it is a poor substitute for Agape love (God’s love).
The transformation process
People think the spiritual journey is an exciting adventure full of joy. Well yes, maybe, but certainly not all of it.
The road has peaks and valleys, and usually more valleys than peaks.
The process of spiritual transformation is painful. What makes it painful is the task of bringing our flesh into alignment with the spirit.
It’s what the Apostle Paul refers to as, the death of the old man. The flesh must be purified and refined so it learns to obey the spiritually transformed mind.
We renew our minds through daily prayer, reading and studying of the Scriptures, attending church, and putting the teachings into practice.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is; his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
Our faith is worthless if we do not apply what we learn. Jesus was clear about this, saying that believers must practice what they preach.
He said to His disciples and the crowds:
“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”
The Flesh and the Spirit
The two natures (the flesh and the spirit) are always in conflict with one another once the soul has been regenerated.
Before being born again, there is less conflict as you are still in the world and so a slave to sin.
There’s no battle because the flesh has full control.
The Apostle Paul talks about this conflict that he himself experienced, saying:
“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
Spiritual transformation changes the very nature of our being. By treading the path we become an entirely different person from before, undergoing a metamorphosis.
The long-term goal is to transcend our lower nature, which is completely self-absorbed, and become like Christ. It is in this state that we will be transfigured as the light of Christ will radiate from inside of us.
This is as close to perfection as we will ever get in this lifetime.
After death, we will transition on into eternity to be with Christ.
How will I feel when I am transformed spiritually?
As you start to change, things won’t upset you the way they once did. For example, you won’t be offended if people criticize you, and you won’t react as much when people hurt or disrespect you because you will no longer be living in the ego.
You will be connected to the divine within and see the world from a completely different perspective.
You will not be the same person. The old personality dies in the process and a new creation emerges, just like the butterfly emerges from the cocoon a transformed creature.
Nothing is the same. The caterpillar is gone forever!
But, there is a process to go through. It doesn’t happen overnight.
We need healing.
Yes, we were transformed spiritually when we were saved, but there is the working out of our salvation, which takes time.
The good news is, you will not have to do it alone because you have the Holy Spirit guiding you and teaching you, every step of the way.
When these 10 things happen, you will be spiritually transformed
1. Awareness
You will have an awareness that something is missing in your life. Nothing you do seems to fill the longing within you. You know something is wrong and you start to take steps to find out what it is.
2. The desire for more
A hunger for something more satisfying comes over you. To ease the restlessness, you get serious about seeking answers.
3. The search
You start to look for more meaning beyond worldly pleasures. Jesus said, “seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened onto you” (Matthew 7:7). You start to educate yourself on the things of God. You might start to pray or meditate. This is still the exploring stage.
4. Meeting with God
After a while, you notice God responding in different ways. Then you discover a relationship with a loving God who cares for you. You feel truly accepted for the first time ever.
5. Education
At this point, God educates you by leading you to the right people, the right churches, meetings, etc. God accepts you just as you are, but loves you too much to leave you that way. So He will teach you the way you should go. Welcome to the school of God!
6. Training
Now, you have to learn how to change. Yes, salvation is supernatural and happens by grace, but you have to co-labour with Christ in working out all the dark parts of your nature. We must work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
7. Practice
Once you learn about God’s righteousness (holiness), you will come to see how un-spiritual you really are. God is so pure — all His actions are based on LOVE and his motives are 100% pure. There is no bad thing in God because He is Light, Truth, and Peace.
You start putting what you learn into action by practicing the spiritual disciplines — prayer, meditation, study, and fasting.
8. Awakening
When you become more conscious (aware), the veil is lifted from your eyes and you discover that the ways of the world have nothing to do with God’s ways. This is an exciting time for the believer.
9. Commitment to the journey
Once you have tasted life in the Spirit, you will not want to go back. For a few years, you will play with the idea of returning to your old way of life, but it loses its appeal after a while. When you experience God and the new life in Him, you will eventually make a commitment to it.
10. Serving God
It becomes your life and whoever God puts on your path is part of that life. Sometimes it’s to teach them about God, or sometimes it’s to show us what a life without God looks like, only sealing the commitment more.
At this stage, listening and obeying God becomes your way of life.
At times you will resist, but when you go your own way and see the results, you will eventually accept that God’s way is always best.
What’s the purpose of going through this long process?
The purpose is the purpose of your life. To be prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ or for your death and life in eternity.
But, not only that, when you go through this spiritual transformation, you will feel amazing. You will have an abundant, peaceful life, and the fears you once had will be gone, as you will learn to trust completely in God, the All-Sufficient One (El Shaddai).
Transformation takes time, but do not give up for you are moving closer and closer to a life of freedom.
