Transforming Character Through Trials and Divine Partnership

So A very wise person said the main thing that God gets out of your life is the person you become not the resume you build not the achievements that you pile up not the possessions that you acquire is what you'll take into eternity is you and that's primarily about your character you're my heart my love and self so that's what we're learning about it's the most important stuff in the world and we're focusing on that today [00:37:30]

I mean you've probably encountered as a whole piece of research now called post-traumatic growth some people would call it which is really the study of what's the good stuff that comes out of trauma and weirdly for me when when I was studying trauma back in the day I at the same time I was reading the book of James and that whole thing anyway consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you encounter Trials of any kind trials test you know charge test you and eventually developed character that's my sort of summary of it [00:103:26]

I really think some of the people were working with with trauma actually become better people as a result of what based and so he went away and did a whole pile of research and then accidentally overnight he and I became the sort of European experts in post-traumatic growth traveling around talking about this stuff because quite a lot of work had been done in the states where you are but but not much had been communicated here in the UK and so we became some of the Advocates of that for a while [00:137:16]

There are ways that we grow in seasons of suffering that for some reason just don't really quite happen apart from that here's what I want to really explore with you today often when you read books about topics like this character personal growth even spiritual growth they will be at least in the U.S maybe not the UK in what will be called the self-help section of the bookstore and that idea that if I'm going to grow it's up to me I can do it tends to be quite prominent in our society [00:180:48]

I can't become that person I can't do what I most want to do but he can God can I think I will let him so I need to find a way to access God to partner with God to discover God to experience God and you have some very intriguing ways of talking about the role that God plays in the presence of God plays so I'd love for you to talk with folks about that [00:230:45]

The moment I try to be hopeful grateful self-controlled humble Etc I immediately run into my inability to do it you know straight away but if you're really really honest and you watch yourself closely you notice that you need something more than just your own grit and perseverance and strategy to get there [00:268:51]

Mindfulness is being present for the present moment so some people would Define mindfulness it's much more than this but some people would Define it as being in the present moment without wishing it otherwise religious thing with whatever whatever it is right now that's mindfulness for me the sort of additional element of mindfulness for the Christian is something along the lines it's being present to the presence in the present [00:346:58]

When we put to one side many of the sort of distracting thoughts and things that come our way we open ourselves not just to the present moment which in itself can be a bit of a relief thank goodness I'd have to think about all these demands on me but my experience at least is that when I do that in a christ-centered way I find that there's a presence that meets me in that moment a present of sort of unconditional love [00:388:97]

Virtue is nothing more that's hilarious nothing more than and then he goes on to say a mature and deliberate affection plainly directed at God for him alone that's the way he defines virtue that's what he defines goodness so what he's saying is that in that moment that that that sort of mature and deliberate affection plainly directed at God for him alone the moment we step into that space I encounter that idea of sort of all the virtues [00:423:06]

I think character develops in almost two directions one is that we come to God in that way we're present to his presence in the present and then in that moment we're at weirdly by doing that you're already practicing character strength you're already being curious you're already getting aware of the moment you're already practicing love you're already being humble you're actually practicing it in that moment right there [00:477:90]

I find that that's the sort of site sometimes I call it living in the loop of love it's this idea that you sort of you project your love to God and in the process somehow God loves through you not just back to him but also back to the whole world around you and from my point of view even though that doesn't sound particularly sophisticated psychologically there's an Infinity of science just involved in that in that phase and everything is held there somehow as well [00:515:76]

The practice I find most helpful is I mean some people call it centering prayer I actually sort of develop my own approach called strengthening prayer but it's the same thing which is basically the idea of I will take 20 minutes twice a day once in the morning once in the evening I'm more consistent in the morning than I am in the evening I must compare this and the main aim of that moment is that I practice simply lifting my affection to God [00:675:83]