Scripture: Galatians 4:19
My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ is formed in you-
The small ruler
The future is something that happens to me, and I can only adapt to whatever comes.
The grace I receive
God invites me to participate intentionally in the person Christ is forming within me.
Reflection
We are being formed all the time.
We change and grow every day. The deeper questions are what we are changing into and who or what is informing that change.
Attention forms us.
Repeated thoughts form us. Relationships form us. Loss forms us. Success forms us. The voices we trust, the stories we absorb, the environments we inhabit, and the technologies we use all exert pressure on the person we are becoming.
Formation does not wait for us to become intentional about it.
When we are passive, we are at the mercy of whatever forces are strong enough to hold our attention.
Paul gives us another possibility. He speaks of Christ being formed in us.
That formation is already God’s work. The Spirit has been present through everything we have explored in Love Beyond Measure. God has been strengthening, renewing, revealing, joining, healing, and teaching us to live from love.
Intentional spiritual formation does not mean taking that work away from God and becoming responsible for constructing a better self.
It means becoming attentive to what God is developing and learning how to participate with Him.
We begin asking different questions.
What has my attention right now?
What kind of person is this habit making me?
What fear keeps shaping the way I see?
Where do I sense more life, truth, love, courage, and freedom?
What is the Spirit asking me to release?
What might God be making possible that I have been too afraid or distracted to see?
Those questions move us from passive formation toward intentional formation.
And that is where the future begins to change.
The future is not merely something waiting somewhere ahead of you. Part of it is already taking shape in the person you are becoming today.
You cannot control everything that will happen around you. You do have agency in what you give your attention to, what you practice, what voices you allow to define reality, and how available you remain to the Spirit.
God is not standing at a distance waiting to see whether you manage the future correctly.
He is working within you now. He will be present in possibilities you cannot yet see. He will continue turning the compass toward life in Him.
You do not have to be certain about the future to become confident about entering it.
You can become intentional about what is forming you.
In our next devotion we begin The Formed Future.
We will not begin by trying to predict what comes next.
We will begin with the person who will meet it.
A prayer of presence
Christ Jesus,
You are already forming me from within. I do not want to give my life passively to every voice, fear, habit, or pressure that competes for my attention. Make me aware of what is shaping me. Teach me to participate willingly with the work of Your Spirit. Form in me a life that can meet the future with love, courage, wisdom, and freedom.
– Amen
A practice of grace
Pay attention to what receives the most of your mental and emotional energy today. At the end of the day, ask, “What is this forming in me?” Do not judge yourself. Simply notice. Then offer that area to God and ask what intentional response might create more room for the Spirit.
Consider this...
If I am always being formed, what do I want to become more intentional about now?
Carry this prayer with you today
Breathe in: Christ is forming me...
Breathe out: ... I offer my future to God
Continue the journey
If this devotion helped you pause, breathe, and receive the mind of Christ today, you are invited to continue walking through the full At the Threshold 4-day series.
Read the next devotion, carry the breath prayer with you, and let this become more than a thought for the day. Let it become a quiet practice of renewal.
See the pattern. Hear the teaching. Live the prayer.
You can also listen to the companion reflections on Still, Here and follow the deeper Bible teaching through The Bible Unplugged at Power Love & Miracles.