ISAIAH 30:15a – For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
THEME OF THE DAY: CULTIVATING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD. In evaluating the challenges in cultivating our relationship with the Lord, what would we individually list as the top three? As you ponder your answers, I am going to make some assumptions on what they might be before I give mine. Some of you might list, “I don’t have time, too many distractions, and fatigue.” The first one isn’t legitimate. Each of us have been given 168 hours a week. All through church history and in our lives and churches we have examples of those with a close walk with the Lord who made the time. Our spiritual intimacy with the Lord isn’t a time issue, but a desire issue. The second reason – distractions – is real and we must do battle against them. But we honestly cannot use this as a valid excuse because we allow distractions. For instance, if we are trying to have quality time in the Word and prayer, fellowshipping with the Lord, and our phone or computer is near us, distractions from either or both will be present. The last one – fatigue – is also real. To defeat this, ensure we give the Lord our best time of the day, not leftover times in our days. If we are “morning people”, give the Lord the morning watch. If we are at our best in the evening, make the Lord a priority. Now for my answer to the top three challenges we face in cultivating our relationship with the Lord.
First, procrastination. There will never be a “perfect time” when it comes to the spiritual life. I’ve had people tell me, “Pastor, when I get through this season of life, then I will have more time for the Lord.” That is self-deception and reveals two things; misplaced priorities in life and the tolerance of the sin of procrastination; putting off known spiritual responsibilities and privileges to a not promised tomorrow. Procrastination has kept many Christians in a state of spiritual infancy because this sin quenches fellowship with the Lord and stops spiritual growth. The weapon to defeat procrastination is the Apostle Paul’s instruction about time in his letter to the Ephesians – Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:15-17).
The second challenge we face in cultivating our relationship with the Lord is spiritual laziness which we would add the cause – lack of self-control. It takes work, “spiritual sweat” even, to get close and stay close to the Lord. And the battle is intense. Our flesh never surrenders to a desire to seek the Lord, yet, the Lord tells us clearly what is required to find and know Him – You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). How do we slay the beasts of laziness and lack of self-control to deepen our relationship with the Lord? It begins with one thing; realizing the tremendous privilege God gives us – to know Him. If our hearts and minds are opened to what God is offering – close communion with our Creator/Redeemer, we will put in the hard work of self-discipline to pursue Him with the goals to know Him, love Him, worship Him, and obey Him. How could we not?
A third challenge is the Martha-problem – Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42). And this ties into the scripture of the day. It is in quietness we cultivate our walks with the Lord, being Mary in a Martha world. Simply stated – we are too busy in life and too busy with the wrong things! Cultivating our walks with the Lord. May we do so because He is worthy of us doing so!
PRAYER: “Father, help me to value my relationship with You as the chief one in my life and give it the priority it deserves.”
QUOTE: “Procrastination, laziness, and busyness are the chief foes fighting against us in our walks with the Lord.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim