I have never been known for my extreme patience. When it comes to most things, especially spiritual things, I am all about the shortcut. I don’t see any reason why we should make it a goal to take things as slowly and painfully as possible if we can speed up our spiritual growth. From a perspective of spiritual power and effectiveness in healing and other ministry, I feel that there are so many hurting people that we need to learn how to effectively accelerate our growth. To this end, I have written multiple chapters on the subject in my latest book, The Gamer’s Guide to the Kingdom of God.

In spite of my preference for the fast-track, there are some things that simply don’t have any shortcuts–one in particular is relationship with God. There is something about spending time with God, whether Father, Jesus, or Holy Spirit, that cannot be accelerated. It’s an ongoing, daily living-life that has no turbo-charge button and no special shortcut to take to speed things up. Even if there were, the speeding up would be the equivalent of slowing down, because when it comes to relationship with God, the journey IS the destination.

There is an awakening in the Body of Christ in this time to the mystical realms–of oneness with Christ Jesus, being fully consumed by his passion and his love. This is not a process that can be accelerated, in the same way that one cannot quickly throw a pot. The process of firing that pot is equally painstaking and slow, as the temperature must be just right or the pot will fire incorrectly and be ruined. Turning our heart of affection towards Jesus is a daily, even hourly event. As we turn our hearts toward Jesus in love, there is a communion that takes place with Him where we encounter His love, and a sensation of that love wells up within us, often causing outward visible signs of that inner, invisible working.

The deepest spiritual growth is not in who is the most spiritually powerful, who can work the most miracles, or who can heal the greatest number of people. It is not in delivering accurate words of knowledge and prophecy, nor in the ability to cast out demons or combat principalities and powers of darkness. Love is the preeminent law of the universe, and this love can only be cultivated fully through the Being of Perfect Love, Jesus Christ. As we engage in oneness with Him in our hearts, we attune ourselves to the frequencies of the universe–the stars, plants, animals, the elements, and even the heart of humanity. The love of Jesus is what truly transforms us into His image and likeness, so that we, too, can release light, life, and love into the world and in so doing to transform it. Spiritual power is of some value, and to be effective in the Kingdom we must operate in spiritual power, but nothing can compare or compete with the all-encompassing love that is Jesus, in whom we live and move and have our being. No, there are no shortcuts to attain to this goal, and short cuts do make for long delays. The good news is that relationship with Jesus, the mystical union of our hearts with His, is but a moment away, a moment to turn inward and turn our hearts heavenward. Let us be a people who remember the journey is the destination, and as we remember, let our hearts once more entwine with His.