Devotions from  John Ortberg’s book, The Me I want to Be

It’s important that we all find out how we grow spiritually. What works for someone else may not work or be helpful for us. We are God’s masterpiece He created (Eph. 2:10) and masterpieces get handcrafted. God didn’t make us like anyone else so his plan for shaping us will not look like his plan for anyone else. If you try to follow a generic plan for spiritual growth, it will only frustrate you. The key is to find the unique conditions that help each of us to grow. 
God knows what each person needs and never grows two people the same way.  The problem many of us have is to listen to someone we think is an expert ( maybe our pastor) and think that we have to do  it the same way. When it doesn’t work we may give up. God’s plan for me will not look like any one else, which means it will take freedom and exploration for me to learn how God wants to grow me. For example I love to journal but for someone else they are not wired that way and hate to journal.  We need to find those things that help us become more aware of God’s presence in our own lives and not feel guilty if it is not like someone else.  We learn differently, struggle with different sins, and relate to God in different ways.  “The main measure of your devotion to God is not your devotional life. It is simply your life.”  More on this tomorrow.