“Therefore,
whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” - 1
Corinthians 10:31-32
The facts
of creation prove to me that God intended for us to live in paradise. He wants
an intimate relationship with each one of us. Instead of receiving His gift,
mankind chose to exalt himself as equal to God and we ended up in this
pain-filled world. There is good news, however. God’s Spirit within us makes
this life not only bearable, but also victorious (Isaiah
41:10).
The grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
are gifts from the Lord that we can enjoy every day of our lives (1
Corinthians 13:14). We
only need to accept God’s complete forgiveness and to surrender our will to His
in order to make a lasting difference in our life and in the world around us.
In Luke
10:18-42, Mary realized this truth and she relinquished her need to control her
environment and chose instead to sit at Jesus feet. Martha, on the other hand,
assumed the leadership role in order to impress Jesus with her self-efforts.
She ended up with bitterness and anger eating at her soul. Attempting to
maintain control often causes mental breakdowns and emotional wounds.
Intimacy with
God is available to every Believer. He longs for our fellowship (1
Corinthians 1:9). We
only need to take the time to meet with Him in absolute quietness (Psalm 46:10), waiting and
listening, getting to know Him intimately and experiencing first hand the width and
length and height and depth of His love
(Ephesians 3:18). Tranquility of body, soul and spirit is
the key to attaining this union with God.
Your flesh,
the world and the devil will raise roadblocks to keep you from spending this
quality time. As we simplify our lives, however, and walk in the Spirit, we end
up doing only those activities, which the Holy Spirit leads us to do each
moment of the day. This does not mean that we cannot plan ahead, but we follow
the Spirit’s leading as we plan.
If we
cannot hear from God, negative emotions in our soul, such as anxiety, stress,
unforgiveness and anger, are probably the impediment. Negative emotions are our
soul’s way of communicating to us that something is out of synchronization
within us. If you pay attention to what your body, soul (mind,
will and emotions) and
spirit are telling you, then you can deal with the root cause. Then the
negative emotions will disappear as well.
Another
facet, which blocks communication are the lies, which Satan often whispers to
us, and which we actually believe. These negative statements cripple us
emotionally and limit us from realizing our potential in Christ. Ask God to
reveal your negative beliefs and to replace them with His truth. Freed from
these unconstructive restraints, we live productive, God blessed days.
Perseverance
is the key to finding regular time to spend with God each day and then to guard
it, making it a priority in your life.
You can choose morning, afternoon or evening to spend this quality time
with Him. It depends upon the other demands in your life. If you force yourself
to get up too early in the morning, you may end up resenting this time instead
of looking forward to it. You can even spend time with God during your lunch
break or while the children nap in the afternoon. This may be the best
opportunity for you to focus on God. I love to spend the night watches (Psalm
119:148) with God. The
world is quiet all around me and there are no distractions or needs that
interrupt my time with the Lord.
It is
impossible for God to love you more than He does right now (John
3: 16). He
loves you infinitely and He exults over you with joy (Zephaniah 3:17). Your unrighteous behavior will grieve Him (Ephesians
4:30), but that does
not alter His unconditional love for you. We cannot earn His love and we cannot
earn intimacy with Him either. Both are free gifts from our loving Father (Romans
5:16).
Know
without a shadow of a doubt that God wants to spend time with you. In fact, He
is prepared to spend eternity with you. The relationship you build with Him here on earth will
remain in place forever. You may think that you do not have time in your day to
develop this intimacy with God. Nevertheless, it is actually all a matter of
priorities. We make the difference through our choices. Trim the unnecessary
activities in your schedule to free up your resources and to give you time to
spend with Jesus, the lover of your soul (John 14:21).
Prayer:
Lord, teach
me to adjust my priorities and to eliminate busyness and negative emotions from
my life. They needlessly contaminate my thoughts and clutter up my time. Help
me to make a difference for You in Your Kingdom on the earth by following the
leading of Your Spirit moment by moment throughout the day.
Thought for the Day:
Though many
things may seem important, only God’s will is necessary.