Strength to Strength: Meditations for Spiritual Direction

Those whose strength is in you,…
go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
– Psalm 84:5, 7

Too many Christians are more resigned than need be to a stumbling
approach to spiritual growth. We presume that progress towards
maturity happens by a “two steps forward, one step back” process. But the
Biblical model doesn’t quite support this view. Instead Scripture speaks of
“unveiled faces” that are being transformed “from glory to glory.” It imagines
us as trees planted close to a stream, whose “branches never wither.” And it
speaks of those whose hearts are “set on pilgrimage” who then go “from
strength to strength until each appears before God in Zion.”

The meditations in this book encourage such proximity to Jesus and the
cultivation of a steadfast prayer life that alone can “establish” us in Christ.
They assure us that simply remaining in His love will not only produce vitality
in the spiritual life, but also sustain it for the whole journey.

In the tradition of Christian contemplatives and mystics from the early
centuries to the present, Rob Des Cotes brings fresh insights to many familiar
biblical passages, applying them to prayer and to the transforming work of
spiritual direction. The numerous images and creative metaphors of the
spiritual journey found in these concise and thought-provoking meditations
are both contemporary while deeply rooted in the classics of Catholic,
Orthodox and Reformation contemplative traditions.

ROB DES COTES is a spiritual director, retreat leader and pastor of Imago
Dei, a network of faith communities that encourages the practice of prayer
and a transforming relationship with God. He is the author of four other
books of meditations for spiritual direction, "Fan the Flame," "Higher Than I,"
"Ultreia! (Go Higher)" and "Strength to Strength"