Wallace SC&W
Rev. Stephen C. Wallace
SPIRITUAL MATURITY
Implementing Spiritual Disciplines
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”
2 Peter 3:18
Submitting to God
1. What are you most prizing and serving in life? Look at your credit card/bank statement
to see where you are spending your money and your calendar to see what commands your
time for clues they reveal.
___ Job
___ Hobby
___ Family
___ Yourself
___ Comfort
___ God
___ Money
___ Pleasure
___ Security
___ Other: _______________ ________________________________________
2. How do you show your submission or commitment to that priority?
___ by the amount of time given to it
___ by money spent on it
___ by what changes I make in response to it
___ by priorities it puts in place
___ by who I associate with or do not associate with
___ Other: _______________________________________________________
3. What do you think of when you hear “submission”?
___ Boring
___ Cruelty
___ Oppression
___ Honoring another
___ Willingly Serving
___ Seeking to bring joy to another
___ Degrading oneself
___ Weakness
___ Failure
___ Seeing more than oneself
___ Other: _______________________________________________________
4. How do you show your submission to God? (mark all that apply)
___ Giving of time to be with God
___ Giving of money to do what God desires
___ Living without some things in order to better do what God desires
___ Changing priorities to what God says is best
___ Forgiving others even when it is difficult
___ Caring about the welfare of others
___ Trusting in the direction God has pointed out for me to take
___ Spending time in worship
___ Spending time listening in prayer
___ Working to make a positive impact on the world
___ Telling others about God’s love sent in Jesus
___ Confessing my wrongs and asking for forgiveness from God and others
___ Other: ______________________________________________________
5. What things cloud your dedication to God being first priority?
___ Fear of what God will ask of me
___ Love of pleasure and comforts
___ Uncertainty of if I will like what God brings
___ Hurts of the past
___ Feeling let down by God
___ Confusion about what God wants or how to make God the priority
___ My life is doing just fine without God messing around in it
___ I have found other priorities that I like more
___ Other:___________________________________________________
6. God says that we will find help as we submit. How have you personally been
blessed by God? (check all that apply)
___ Encouraged or Motivated
___ Given Peace
___ Valued
___ Given a new start
___ Removed guilt
___ Given Joy
___ Provided for your needs
___ Received direction/guidance
___ Given opportunities
___ Challenged about something
___ Given protection
___ Strengthened
___ Creativity
___ Other ____________________________________________
7. If you claim to follow God how have you hidden or are you hiding your
loyalty to him in some way? Why?
___ At work, because: _____________________________________
___ At home, because: _____________________________________
___ In public, because: ______________________________________
___ On vacation, because: ___________________________________
___ In a relationship, because: ________________________________
___ Other: _______________________________________________
8. Is there something that God is wanting you to submit in right now? What?
If you are struggling to submit, why? _______________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
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The Next Step: How to Grow in your Spiritual Maturity
(specific suggestion to questions in the inventory are labeled Q +
the number of the question)
Submitting to God:
Q.1 – Reflect on the priorities in your life. Are they what you want? _______________
Do you have any undesired priorities? ______________________________________
What are they costing/providing you? ____________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Q.2 – Reflect on what is positively and negatively impacted by your choice of priorities.
How are others touched by your choices? What opportunities are opened or lost? ____________________________________________________________________
Q.3 – Identify what situations, assumptions, people or… have formed your understanding
of “submission”. _______________________________________________________
Are there any misunderstandings or inaccuracies? Any biases? _____________________
____________________________________________________________________
Read the biblical perspective on submission (willingly and lovingly doing what another
desires as the first priority)? Matthew 20:25-28 – greatest is a slave, Matthew 23:8-12 - one
master, Mark 8:34-35 – pick up your cross, John 13:12-15 Jesus washing feet, etc. Visualize
what Jesus looked like, felt and thought in these experiences. Write a description of what
submission means as shown in these passages. ___________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Q.4 – What has been the impact of your submitting to God’s direction (personally and for
others, positives and negatives)? ____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Have all of the ways you have chose to submit been what God wanted or are the result of
what others wanted, what others told you submission meant, or you assumed you were
supposed to do? If you have any questions about whether they were the right direction
to take talk with some trusted others about it? _________________________________
Q.5 – List those things that are competing with God for the #1 spot along with the attraction
that they hold. __________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
What impact does having competing priorities have on you and how you view/respond to
God? ______________________________________________________________
What would it take for you to choose God as the single, clear, #1 priority? ____________
____________________________________________________________________
Two activities that can help reveal priorities or struggles are Fasting and Simplicity. Fasting
can be from anything (food, an activity, etc) and for various lengths of time. It is done in order
to clarify our priorities and as a gift to honor God. Richard Foster’s book “Celebration of
Discipline” offers helpful insights and procedures on fasting. Simplicity is the act of removing
from our life all of the clutter and the unnecessary. In our world it is easy to accumulate stuff and
then to find our security in those things. Simplicity helps us back away from attachments to things
so that we can more fully hold onto God. Simplicity might even mean giving up things that
are helpful in order to remove the distraction they bring.
Consider a time of fasting. If you were to fast from something what would be the thing to choose:
________________________________________________________________________
For how long and often: _____________________________________________________
Are there ways that you would benefit from simplifying your life? What are some ways that you
Would consider simplifying? __________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
How will you go about that? _________________________________________________
Q.6 – Tell God “thank you” for these blessings. Maybe write, paint or draw something to
show your gratitude.
Write down in a notebook all of the blessings you can think of, adding things as the come
along, and review this list on regularly as a reminder of the good things you have been given.
Maybe share some of these things with others. ___________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Q.7 –What are the specifics of how you are hiding your loyalty to God (e.g. doing things to try
and fit in, not telling of your love of God and Christ)? ________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Reflect upon the value of Christ to your life and the blessings you have because of him.
Think about your need for him and how these gifts call for a response from you.
Think about how others could be blessed by the gifts Christ offers. _______________________
_________________________________________________________________________
What will you do to be true to God instead of hiding God in these situations? ______________
________________________________________________________________________
Q.8 – Write out what is standing in your way to doing as God is asking: __________________
________________________________________________________________________
Make an action plan for how you could follow God’s directing: What: ___________________
________________________________________________________________________
Where: __________________________________________________________________
When: ___________________________________________________________________
With anyone else: ___________________________________________________________
