First off, if you have not watched this video, I would recommend you do.  This post will make a lot more sense if you do.

Based on John 4:23-24, I came up with an equation: Spirit + Truth = True Worship. Spirit = essence, “anointing,” being able to feel and be moved by the Holy Spirit.             Truth = personal excellence, skill, mastering your gifting                                                 True Worship = the goal, the dream, your destiny

In other words, to reach your God-given dreams, it takes essence, being close to God and being moved by the Holy Spirit, as well as, personal excellence in your life.  That could be school, lessons, mentorship, whatever applies to your situation.

I have really been chewing on this equation and double checking to see if my life is “adding” up.  Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

For me, the essence part is easy.  I am a creative, artisitic personality.  I feel God easily.  I am very sensitive to the Presence or essence of God.  As long as I stay close to God, it is easy for me. In my situation, this would apply to music.  A strength I have is being able to translate that Presence through music.  I am gifted to move people’s souls to open up their spirits. I have the Spirit part of the equation down.

The hard part for me is the Truth part.  Because I “feel” everything, I always want to “feel” it.  I sometimes just want to act on what I feel.  According to the equation it takes Spirit + Truth to live the dream.  For me, that is finishing school and studying music.  It is mastering theory and maximizing my skills on instruments.

Because the Spirit part is so easy for me, I have really been focusing on the Truth part of the equation.  In my situation, Truth is really discipline to gain the knowledge needed.  Because I have focused on increasing my Truth level, I have forgotten my strength in the Spirit part of the equation.

Spirit + Truth has turned into Spirit vs. Truth

I focused so much on truth which involves knowledge and skill.  There is always going to be someone better than you, especially in music.  I got into comparing myself to others.  This could be an endless and quite defeating cycle. The reality is that the truth part is a process.  There will always be someone better than you, but that does not mean that you are not good. I cannot do what John Mayer does on the guitar yet, but I’m still good. The key is to always be bettering yourself. You cannot compare yourself to someone in a different stage of the process.  This is why Paul says not to compare yourself to anyone.  It is not just your skill and knowledge that makes you great.  Remember, it is Spirit + Truth.  It is both.  They work together to accomplish the dream.

How is your life “adding” up?