Psalm 16:11 says, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” How do you experience “fullness of joy” in God’s presence? Because each of us are uniquely designed, with our spiritual temperaments also unique to us, the experience of joy in God’s presence will likely be unique as well. Last week, we looked at the first three of the nine spiritual temperaments. This week we look at the next three. Do you relate to any of them? How can you explore fullness of joy in God’s presence more?
The Contemplative – adores God and sees God as a loving Father or even a Bridegroom. They desire a deep and intimate relationship with God. They may love to have quiet time just for reflection, like Mary who sat at Jesus’ feet in Luke 10:38-42. If you have a Contemplative spiritual temperament, ways to explore more fullness of joy in God’s presence might be to:
- Sit with a candle in the quiet and ask God to speak to you through the Holy Spirit as you pray or read your Bible
- Memorize scripture that speaks to you, and meditate on it through the day
- When do you feel God’s love most deeply? In what tangible ways do you experience that love?
- How do you picture God? How might you expand on your view? How do you limit God?
- Write a love letter to God, praising and adoring him…or if you are musically inclined, make up a tune and sing Psalm 63:3-4 to God, “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.”
- Share your love of God with others to help them know the Lord more deeply
The Enthusiast – is inspired by joyful celebration. They are often very comfortable expressing emotion in worship, lifting hands and praising out loud. They may have songs come to mind while spending time alone with the Lord in prayer. King David had an Enthusiast spiritual temperament, and we see it in 1 Chronicles 13:8: “David and all Israel were dancing before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.” Here are some ways to deepen your experience of fullness of joy in God’s presence if you have an Enthusiast spiritual temperament:
- As you spend time in God’s presence, listen to the Holy Spirit and write down impressions and what you sense God saying to you
- As you read the Bible, picture yourself there in the scene. Does it enhance your experience?
- In what ways do you sense God’s heart during the course of your day? What form does it take? What do you hear? How do your respond?
- Ask God to help you see others through Jesus’ eyes as you walk through a crowd
The Intellectual – enjoys thinking about God and spiritual concepts. They love to learn something new about God and are keen to “understand” faith as opposed to just experiencing it. If you have an Intellectual spiritual temperament, you likely connect well to Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Some possible ways to experience more of God’s presence with an Intellectual spiritual temperament:
- What have you discovered about God recently? How have your discoveries influenced you?
- Invest in Bible Study tools, or check out online Bible commentaries to expand your ability to research more in Bible study
- Pick a topic of interest and do a year-long in-depth Bible study on it
- Read books that help you dig deeper into church history or theology – or even take a class on Christian ethics
- Engage with others in a Bible study
Next week, we will conclude our review of the spiritual temperaments, with the final three: Naturalists, Sensates, and Traditionalists. – Judi Brandow, Communication Specialist
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