14. The Spirit kindly does not force me to confront myself until I am ready.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH THE VERSES IN GALATIANS THAT DESCRIBE THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. WHAT MIGHT WE LEARN IF WE ALSO UNDERSTOOD THESE VERSES TO DESCRIBE THE CHARACTER OF THE SPIRIT TOWARD YOU? E.G., “THE SPIRIT IS KIND TO ME, THE SPIRIT IS GENTLE WITH ME, THE SPIRIT LOVES ME.”
WHEN YOU BECOME AWARE OF YOUR FAILURES, ARE YOU GENTLE AND KIND WITH YOURSELF, OR DO YOU TEND TO BE HARD ON YOURSELF, MAYBE ANGRY WITH YOURSELF?
WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOU ARE GENERALLY MORE OPEN TO CORRECTION NOW THAN YOU WERE 10 YEARS AGO?
In the early 1500’s when Martin Luther was launching the Protestant Reformation a Catholic priest named Ignatius worked to bring reform within the church. Ignatius developed a series of spiritual practices (especially “The Spiritual Exercises” and “Daily Examen”) that helped bring people into a more real and intimate relationship with Jesus. Eventually, Ignatius and his friends formed a new order within the Catholic church which today is known as The Society of Jesus; its members are called Jesuits.
The practice of Examen that Ignatius developed invites the participant to, with the help of the Spirit, reflect on the activities of the previous day, week, month, or year. Ignatius required his followers to practice Examen twice a day. There are variations of the practice of Examen but in general it begins by noticing the situations, activities, and emotions we have experienced for which we are grateful. We then ask the Spirit to help us notice and confront our failure. Ignatius knew that we need the Spirit to help us see our failures because, on our own, we are often blind to them.
As the Spirit brings awareness of our failures, Ignatius advises us to ask forgiveness . Finally, the Examen invites us to look into the future, the next day, and imagine how we will, with the help of the Spirit, live differently. This practice is essentially a process by which we can come to notice our real self, especially the failures of our real self that we would prefer to ignore. The presence of the Spirit is a critical part of the Examen for it is the Spirit who helps us become aware of ourselves. Our sins and failures are certainly known and seen by God, but often we are blinded to this real self.
The Spirit is also important in the way that He reveals to us our failures. On our own, we may struggle to notice our failures yet when we do, we are typically hard on ourselves, suffering from guilt and shame. But when the Spirit works to reveal our sins to us, He does it with gentleness, goodness, and kindness, only inviting us to see the failures that He knows we are able to confront.
When we experience the Spirit’s revealing work, we typically have a sense of lightness, a desire to say “yes” to what we have learned, and a desire to correct these defects in our character. Only the Spirit knows when our hearts are ready to be corrected and He creates the best way to confronting our real self.