James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…”
My thirteen year old son Derek and I had a “date” last weekend. We had dinner at a local burger joint and laughed and talked about school, his friends, church, baseball etc., and then we went to see a 3D movie. I had not seen a 3D movie since 1980 something (remember the cheap red and blue cellophane glasses?) so my son took great pleasure in watching my reaction to the new and oh-so-much-cooler world of 3D. We had the best time, and I realized how much I have missed just hanging out with him, and how much I treasure our time together. We used to go on “dates” all the time when he was younger, but as he has gotten older and busier, they have become more scarce. Now that he is a teenager he has friends, sports, band, video games, Facebook, etc. that keep him busy and monopolize his time. Dates with Mom have fallen to the bottom of the priority list, and I really miss that time with him.
This got me thinking that God probably feels the same way about the time we spend with Him. He loves us more than we could ever imagine, even more than we love our kids. He desires for us to spend quality time talking to Him, praising Him, singing to Him, and listening to what He has to say to us, both through His Word, and through the still, small voice of The Holy Spirit. Just like our kids, however, we are busy, probably even more so. We have our jobs, housework, shuffling the kids from baseball practice to band practice to church, grocery shopping, volunteer work, Facebook, e-mail, television, etc., etc. etc. We are so busy with life, that we don’t make time for the Source of Life in our day. If you are anything like me, at some point in time you have probably said “I just don’t have time anywhere else in the day, so I will get up an hour early and spend my quiet time with God.” If you are really like me, you laid out your Bible and prayer journal, set that alarm for 5:00 am, ready to get up and “get your praise on” , only to jump out of bed panicking at 6:30 because you hit snooze repeatedly in your sleep. ( I didn’t earn the title “Snooze Alarm Queen” for nothing.)
Time with God is vital to our Christian walk. If we don’t spend time with God and feed on His Word, we become weak and vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. God promises us that if we seek Him we will find him. Jeremiah 29:12-13 says “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart”. (emphasis mine) ALL of our hearts. He doesn’t want what we have leftover at the end of the day. He doesn’t want us to seek Him half-heartedly because we feel obligated to. Would it be any fun for you to spend time with your child if they were only doing it because you forced them to, or because they felt guilty about not hanging out with you? I know I wouldn’t. Odds are you would end up spending the evening with a sullen, pouty, one syllable spouting teenager. You want your kids to spend time with you because they love you with all their hearts and want to spend time with you. It’s the same for God and us. He created us to love and seek and find Him, and wants a relationship with us. Why else would he sacrifice His son on the cross for our sins so He could be with us forever? Just as our verse for the day says, if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us, and in following His will for us to spend quality time with Him, we will receive the blessing of His presence. 2 Chronicles 15:2 says “…The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”
I challenge you this week (and myself too) to make spending time with God a priority. Find something in your day that is not spiritually beneficial that you can cut out, and give that time to God. Start your day an hour earlier or end it an hour later. I promise you God will not return it to you empty. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6.
Father, please forgive me for not making time with you a priority. Just as I desire a close relationship and time with my son, I know you desire the same thing from me, and I ask God that you would reveal to me the things that are hindrances to me, Lord, and help me to eliminate those things so that I may devote the time and passion to seeking you that you deserve and expect. Thank you for your blessings, Father. In the precious Name of Jesus, Amen.
My thirteen year old son Derek and I had a “date” last weekend. We had dinner at a local burger joint and laughed and talked about school, his friends, church, baseball etc., and then we went to see a 3D movie. I had not seen a 3D movie since 1980 something (remember the cheap red and blue cellophane glasses?) so my son took great pleasure in watching my reaction to the new and oh-so-much-cooler world of 3D. We had the best time, and I realized how much I have missed just hanging out with him, and how much I treasure our time together. We used to go on “dates” all the time when he was younger, but as he has gotten older and busier, they have become more scarce. Now that he is a teenager he has friends, sports, band, video games, Facebook, etc. that keep him busy and monopolize his time. Dates with Mom have fallen to the bottom of the priority list, and I really miss that time with him.
This got me thinking that God probably feels the same way about the time we spend with Him. He loves us more than we could ever imagine, even more than we love our kids. He desires for us to spend quality time talking to Him, praising Him, singing to Him, and listening to what He has to say to us, both through His Word, and through the still, small voice of The Holy Spirit. Just like our kids, however, we are busy, probably even more so. We have our jobs, housework, shuffling the kids from baseball practice to band practice to church, grocery shopping, volunteer work, Facebook, e-mail, television, etc., etc. etc. We are so busy with life, that we don’t make time for the Source of Life in our day. If you are anything like me, at some point in time you have probably said “I just don’t have time anywhere else in the day, so I will get up an hour early and spend my quiet time with God.” If you are really like me, you laid out your Bible and prayer journal, set that alarm for 5:00 am, ready to get up and “get your praise on” , only to jump out of bed panicking at 6:30 because you hit snooze repeatedly in your sleep. ( I didn’t earn the title “Snooze Alarm Queen” for nothing.)
Time with God is vital to our Christian walk. If we don’t spend time with God and feed on His Word, we become weak and vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. God promises us that if we seek Him we will find him. Jeremiah 29:12-13 says “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart”. (emphasis mine) ALL of our hearts. He doesn’t want what we have leftover at the end of the day. He doesn’t want us to seek Him half-heartedly because we feel obligated to. Would it be any fun for you to spend time with your child if they were only doing it because you forced them to, or because they felt guilty about not hanging out with you? I know I wouldn’t. Odds are you would end up spending the evening with a sullen, pouty, one syllable spouting teenager. You want your kids to spend time with you because they love you with all their hearts and want to spend time with you. It’s the same for God and us. He created us to love and seek and find Him, and wants a relationship with us. Why else would he sacrifice His son on the cross for our sins so He could be with us forever? Just as our verse for the day says, if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us, and in following His will for us to spend quality time with Him, we will receive the blessing of His presence. 2 Chronicles 15:2 says “…The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”
I challenge you this week (and myself too) to make spending time with God a priority. Find something in your day that is not spiritually beneficial that you can cut out, and give that time to God. Start your day an hour earlier or end it an hour later. I promise you God will not return it to you empty. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6.
Father, please forgive me for not making time with you a priority. Just as I desire a close relationship and time with my son, I know you desire the same thing from me, and I ask God that you would reveal to me the things that are hindrances to me, Lord, and help me to eliminate those things so that I may devote the time and passion to seeking you that you deserve and expect. Thank you for your blessings, Father. In the precious Name of Jesus, Amen.
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