I love God, I truly do but (there has to be a but, right?), I don’t always act like I do. I proclaim this love but my life, my decisions and actions say otherwise.
Like Apostle Paul, I “do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
Romans 7:15
I think you will relate to this. You may have a deep hunger to grow your relationship with God but you also realise that your life right now doesn’t leave room for growth.
Rather than moving closer, your spiritual life remains static. Same old, with no visible signs of newness. Then again, I wonder if there is a static point or if we are merely moving farther away from him.
This demands one simple yet difficult question:
Do you love God?
Your answer to this question highlights the nature of your relationship with him.
We are called to:
“…love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and will all your mind…”
Luke 10:27(NIV)
How to love God
The above verse is a familiar scripture that epitomises what God wants from his children and the sort of relationship we should have with him.
But the truth is that it is hard. Loving God will mean:
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Keeping his commandments
“If you love me, keep my commandments.”
John 14:15
“…Does the Lord delight in burnt offering and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
1 Samuel 15:22
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Seeking him
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13
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Understanding that he owns everything including our lives
“The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and all it contains, You have founded them.”
Psalm 89:11
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Living only for him
“You are cheating on God if all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up as enemies of God and his way.”
James 4:4(MSG)
“For you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:20
You can imagine that this is a tough call, especially as we live in a world that celebrates self-actualisation, independence, selfishness, materialism and “justifiable hate”(when we denigrate those with opposing views and values).
So, how do we actively love God in spite of our present realities?
Start with this one thing
We can start with making time for God. This is not a case for religiosity where we believe going to church and giving to charities suffices. These are good but not enough. It is about building the most important relationship we will ever have.
We cannot claim to love him if we can barely make time for him. I say this with remorse and an understanding that I need to change.
What about you?
We can’t say God is our everything and yet put him in ‘second place’, where we directly or indirectly place our careers, relationships, families and even our churches before him.
We end up making our number-one man number 2 or 20.
Maybe like me, you are often consumed with doing the right or “acceptable” things that you forget to do the God thing. The things he mandates and expects of us.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33(NKJV)
In our panic and guilt, we try to assuage our choices by saying God understands.
And truly he does, but understanding shouldn’t be our excuse to continue on the wrong path.
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
Romans 6:1
Maybe you are in this place where you really want to give God the time you know he deserves but find it hard to do so.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
During a recent Sunday service, one of the Pastors’ at the church I attended said something that resonated with me. He reminded us that spending time with God on Sundays is not enough. He espoused the need to draw strength, daily, to overcome life problems. He finally encouraged everyone one of us to find that secret place and spend some time with our father, every day.
I loved this for a few reasons: it was refreshing to have a pastor reiterate that building faith goes beyond church attendance. More so, it is the truth. We have to make time for God, to commune with him, to open our hearts and minds to his word and to know him better.
Can you imagine if we were required to eat only once a week? That would be absolute torture.
We make time to feed our physical bodies but usually fail to feed our spirit. We knowingly or unknowingly believe the prayers and word received one or two times a week should suffice for the rest of the week.
It is not enough. We have been mandated to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and to put on the whole armor of God to be able to withstand the evil one. (Ephesians 6: 10-20).
This signifies that living the Christian life requires that we do certain things on a continuous basis.
“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.”
Psalm 105:4
And the only way to do this is to start now. Not later, not tomorrow but now.
Even as you read this, I pray you take a few moments to speak to God. If you’re not sure of where to start, you can list all the wonderful things he has done.
“A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God.”
Leonard Ravinhill
Will you join me in doing this for the rest of the week? For each day, for the rest of this week, let’s find that secret place and spend time with God.
You get to decide where and how you will do it. For me, it will mean going on more prayer walks and finding a quiet place to commune. It may include some worship, bible study and prayer. Just let it flow and let the Holy Spirit lead you.
Dear Sis, remember that we can only do this through Christ who gives us strength. Even when you forget or are unable to do it, don’t spend time in recriminations but get on up and start again. I pray that this is something we do not only for this week but for the rest of our lives.
Prayer
Our Lord and God, thank you for your word which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Father, we pray that it leads us back to you, daily and that we continue to hunger and thirst for an everlasting relationship with you.
Thank you for your love and mercies and we pray that we will continue to make time to commune with you, through your son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Amen! We are to our God first in all things!
When God holds the first position in our lives, everything else automatically falls into its rightful place.
You’re right, spending time with God should be our number one priority, but it can be sooooo hard! There are just so many things going on in life. Sometimes it’s hard to remember what should come first. I find that I’m guilty of that not just with God, but with other relationships too. We get so busy “doing” things that we forget how to just “be” with the people we love and that love us.
yes yes a thousand times yes! Do my actions show the love for God? Do my reactions show my faith is in him and what he can do in our lives when the storms come? We are walking testimonies.
Thank you for this encouraging reminder to love God and pursue Him, Chioma!
The last few months have been crazy for me – as my family has experienced a lot of suffering. It left me in a real funk. I found myself, like you said, static. Static meaning not drawing near to Him, but really moving further away from Him. I had to make a choice to be more intentional with my faith – to get back to church, Bible study, and my own personal time with the Lord.
It’s been a process – but I have to remember that if I truly love God, my actions will show it – whether I’m in a tough season or not!