Mar 18, 2022
People often say they believe in God or identify themselves as Christians. But the way we live our daily lives might not seem to reflect these claims.
Acclaimed author, international speaker, and That's Just What I Needed Podcast host, Donna Jones, joins us to determine how to ensure we're really following God.
Donna Jones distinguishes the question of following God from simply agreeing with our church or upbringing. She notes several important aspects to examine our personal faith journey. Donna highlights self-awareness and spending time meditating on scripture. She emphasizes the foundational importance of a personal relationship with Christ.
Donna and I discuss how we must make intentional choices to shift from being compelled by our emotions to instead follow God. We recommend venting and processing our feelings and concerns with the Lord before the overwhelm spins us out of control. Donna explains the danger of overload using the metaphor of her washing machine spinning its way far out of position and exposing the dirt underneath.
Donna notes that we tend to ask God to change other people. She explores the story of Mary and Martha in scripture to show how Jesus cares enough to address our needs to fulfill our best character and purpose instead of simply acting to "fix" those around us. We discuss how this pattern of responding to prayer by healing our souls demonstrates the love of God rather than judgment.
We explore the battle against complexity to focus instead on the simple following of Jesus. Just like Martha, we tend to fall into worry, distraction, and busyness. Donna notes that worry, distraction, and feeling upset could serve as indicators that we might not be following the Lord.
Donna shares the common issue of becoming driven by fear off our path of following God. We explore the related issues of self-protection, anger, and the underlying hurt which also serve to tempt us away from focusing our steps to follow Christ.
Donna shares a visual image of Christ standing ahead of us in the future of our lives. He beckons us with tender love and encourages us to follow him.
"God's Word isn't just to be learned. God's Word is to be lived," Donna states. She encourages listeners to saturate their hearts with scripture and also seek to live it out.
Find out more about Donna's books, speaking services, free resources, and That's Just What I Needed Podcast at https://donnajones.org/