| Theres a few people lately who've not been feeling good about their relationship with God. I know I'm one of them. But yeah, basically you are not alone in feeling that way. Why do you feel that way in the first place? For me it was because I would over and over feel a conviction in my heart and get this burning deep desire to spend more time with God, to get to know Him more and become more intimate with Him. But then I never did. It seemed like every day I would be too hot, or too tired, to be able to get into God, to press in, to read His Word, to journal to Him, to soak in His presence...
And you know it wasn't necessarily my fault that I felt that way. But I was responsible for not pressing in anyway. Yesterday I asked for prayer at church, for more of God. The guy that was praying for me said that He sensed that the Lord would give me a new understanding of scripture, so that when I read it it would become alive for me and also that I would be a teacher, a teacher of the Word. And some other stuff... but you see you can go up and get prayer and get words from people, but there are always conditions on them. When Jonah told the Ninehvites that God was going to judge them, God didn't end up doing it becasue they repented. When Timothy had hands laid on him and was given things by God, Paul still wrote to him and exhorted him to stir up the gift. If you get a prophecy that you are going to be a great preacher, does that mean you can just go on living your own life and not press into God? No. You have to let God work on your character and build you. Stick with Him in the high times in the low times. Both when you feel Him and when you don't. Have faith. Be continually filled with the Holy Spirit - it says that in the bible.
You know I had an awesome time with God today for the first time in ages. I was opening my bible and things were jumping out at me. I was journalling like crazy all the stuff God was showing me! But see it took faith for me to go up in front at church to ask for prayer. It took faith for me to recieve it and allow God to do what He wanted with me. It takes faith to pick up your bible and get into it. It takes faith to put on worship music and get into God. It takes faith in every prayer you make. Even if you don't sense anything happening, it doesn't mean that nothing is. God never stops.
Friends... God wants ever so much a deeper relationship with you. He wants intimacy with you. It says in the bible that He is jealous when anything else takes up your time. He is passionate about His relationship with you! He rejoices over you with singing! Ask for a greater hunger. Ask Him for a burning in your bones, a desire for more of Him. Get offline. Stop reading stuff that doens't build you up. Stop watching stuff that doesn't build you up! theres so much out there that only serves to distract us! It might not be evil but it still diverts us from God and the devil will use _anything_ that he can to stop us from drawing near to God.
You know ALL of scripture is useful and God-breathed. Some of it seems boring sometimes... Today I opened my bible, and my eyes fell on a passage that every other time I'd read it, I thought it was boring or judgemental. Ask God to give you understanding, to make His Word come alive for you! Put aside any beliefs that aren't open to what is in His Word. Some people only look at the fact that God is a God of Love and they only look at His grace. Some only look at the other side of Him. Our God is also a Holy God, a pure God a righteous God and a God of justice! The bible says to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding (proverbs). |
