How often do you make God a priority in your life? Do you give Him the time and attention you give to other priorities in your life?
A relationship with God is the same as any other relationship in your life; if you want it to grow- you have to put in some effort. If your spouse or partner all of a sudden stopped talking to you for a couple of days- you’d probably be super worried about your relationship. And yet we cut the communication line to God all the time. Then all of a sudden life gets rough and we call on Him like a genie in a bottle.
Our God is THE God of relationships! We clearly see this in one of the most famous verses in the Bible: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God created us for relationship with Him. In the beginning, Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden and talked with Him every day. They screwed up (as we all would have) and now we have to deal with the consequences. We can’t see when God is with us and we don’t get to directly hear His words. That doesn’t mean He isn’t with us or talking to us- but we have been separated from God because of our sin and now we have to put in some extra effort in our relationship with Him.
This is all a lesson I’ve been learning myself. I knew I needed to spend more time with God and I didn’t know how- so I did some research and here’s what’s worked for me:
- Journaling- just writing down your thoughts, thanksgivings, prayers, etc. Write it out to lessen distractions.
- Waking up early- the biggest distraction I face is a busy household that has T.V’s, phones, and conversations all on. Now I wake up early in order to spend some quiet time with God and God alone.
- Bible Plan- Having a set plan before you makes reading your Bible SO much easier. Instead of just flipping to a random page you have a goal in mind.
- Accountability- I’m in a great Discipleship group and we meet once a week and discuss what we’ve read. I know I’ve got to read a certain amount of chapters every Tuesday and the group is a HUGE motivation.
- Devotional- As someone who recently read the Bible in a year- I didn’t feel like I was getting a spiritual workout when reading through again- so I bought a devotional book called ‘New Morning Mercies’ by Paul David Tripp. It’s been amazing to see a different outlook into the scriptures and be able to apply verses to my own life that I might not have given the time of day before.
Don’t be afraid to try something new if you feel like your time with God isn’t fruitful! But put in the effort that God deserves!
Grow Anyway 