I’m not proud of this, but it’s my truth. When I was dating Russell I drove in the middle of a snow storm to see him. Why did I do it? It was Friday night date night, and I had gotten used to seeing him every Friday without fail. No snow storm was going to get in the way of me seeing my man. He didn’t want to brave the weather to drive to my house like he usually did, so I went to him against all attempts of my mom and grandmother to reason with me about how foolish that decision was. If you’re dating or have ever dated someone seriously before, you know how it is. Your day is just not the same if you don’t hear from or see your boo thang. Those emotions are sho nuff a powerful!
Maybe the thing you cannot get through a day without is working out. I’ve been thre too. I’ve rolled out of bed at 4 am to hit the gym before work. I’ve hit play on my workout videos at midnight because the rest of my day was too hectic. Heck, I’ve brought my exercise clothes to work to do it before I got home from work because I knew that wife and mommy duties would interfere. Those endorphins are sho nuff powerful too! What’s my point? We make time and provision for the things we want to do. And we sacrifice comfort and convenience for the people we want to be around.
Why should time with the Father be any different?
You’re busy. I get it. So am I, but we should never be too busy to acknowledge the Lord in our daily lives. We should never get so comfortable that we think neglecting His presence is no big deal. Quite the contrary. It is the BIGGEST DEAL and absolutely necessary for our spiritual success. If you want to live your best life and experience the fullness of God daily, time in His presence is the prerequisite. Not because you have to earn God’s blessings because let’s be real-none of us can. But because Christ has already done the redemptive work to give you access to every promised blessing. Spending time with Him puts you in a position to receive them. It makes you keenly aware of what you are entitled to as a believer and gives you the strength to resist the adversary when he comes in trying to steal said blessings. That’s his MO. Your (our) MO should be to get your marching orders from above each and every day because each day brings with it a new challenge for which you need to be prepared and strengthened.
The alternative is so beneath you, woman of God. (I’m talking to myself too.)
Have you ever seen a Christian living beneath their God-given privilege and who seems to be hopeless and powerless like their unsaved peers? You were most likely looking at someone whose spiritual account has been tapped out. And who stands in the wings of your life smiling with glee when all the drama hits you, causing you to react outside of your Christian character? Why satan does. He knows (better than many believers unfortunately) that peace, prosperity, and blessings are your birthright as a child of God. But what you need to know is that defeat is not in your spiritual DNA, neither is lust, fear, or depression!
Don’t get me wrong. There is such a thing as suffering for righteousness sake and being persecuted even when you have been spending time with the Lord. But for someone whose spiritual tank has been filled by the Savior, their conversation will be a little different from one who is running on E. Instead of complaints, you will hear praise. Instead of defeat and woe is me, you will hear victory. Time with the Father indeed makes a difference. When you are spiritually empty desperation to fill the void with temporary pleasures kicks in, discontentment kicks in, bitterness kicks in, doubt kicks in. I’ve noticed in my own life when I was at my best spiritually, feeling like I could run through a troop and leap over a wall and when I wasn’t, second guessing myself and lacking confidence. The determining factor for each scenario was how much time I had or hadn’t spent with God. So my dear sister, let’s make time for what and who matters most. Let’s put the Lord back at the throne of our lives like we did when we first met and fell in love with Him. He’s still the same and able to fulfill us like no one or no thing can.
Now what about you? Have you seen a difference in yourself when you’ve been in God’s presence and when you haven’t?
