Every beat of my heart belongs to I AM! 💙
Time stopped…
…and everything around me suddenly came to a grinding halt. In that moment, I stood still with the world. I was one with nature. I made a promise to myself to appreciate life more. To let go of toxic people and old habits.
Most of all, I promise myself to love life no matter where it may take me, and enjoy the adventures God has set up for me as I focus on His will and the reason why He placed me here.
I’m guilty. I’m guilty of not spending enough time with God despite having all the time on my hands lately. And every night after the day comes to a close, I promise to do better the next day, but I do the same thing again when He blesses me with a brand-new one. I finally decided that I had enough and made the decision to start spending time with Him like the old days no matter how busy I might get.
God loves when we spend time with Him. It doesn’t matter if we can recite the entire Bible, it doesn’t matter if we sing worship songs during the day, if we’re not spending time with God, we’re spiritually dead. When Jesus was here on earth, He always made time to spend with God no matter what (Matthew 14:23).
We live in a world where work reigns supreme where we’re conditioned by the system that causes us to forsake the One Who give us the job in the first place. We become so busy and tangle up in duties that we eventually begin to see spending time with God too much of a task. We live in a world where work, hobbies, social media, sleep, fitness obsession etc. has replaced the Lord as our first love (Matthew 22:37).
Here are a few benefits of spending time with God:
* When we spend time with Him, we grow closer to Him. We come to truly know Who He is, and we come to love Him with all our hearts and soul. Just as we spend time interacting with someone to know them better, we should do the same when it comes to working on our relationship with God (John 3:16).
* One of the best parts in spending time with God is that you experience glorious transformation. When people see you, they’ll know that you’ve been in Jesus’ presence base on your behavioral actions (2 Corinthians 3:18).
* Spending time with our Maker gives us a sense of renewal: spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Consider this time alone with God as a retreat. Pray, sing to Him, study, and rest be it relaxing or sleeping (Isaiah 40:31).
* Keeping Him at the forefront of our mind during the day draws us even closer to Him. Make Him a part of your daily life. That’s why sometimes we feel as if He has forsaken us for we don’t spend time in His precious presence (Revelation 3:20).
At the moment, I spend time with God by just talking to Him, praying, reading devotionals, studying the Word, and listening to spiritual music. I also tend to seek Him out, no matter the situation.
Is your love for God the same as it was before?
Is the fire still burning passionately or diminishing?
How can you develop love for someone you know little about and spend little time with?
When was the last time you really took the time to sit and just spend time with God? He values our moments with Him. No matter how busy we get, we should always make time for Him, no excuses, for He doesn’t use the “I’m busy” card when we come to Him.
God just wants us to have a relationship with Him; never become too busy for Him.
Here’s the thing: when everything is going good, it’s super easy to follow Jesus. But when the going gets tough, will you stay when all the odds are stacked against you? When friends and family have given up on you, will you continue to stand with and for Jesus? When you’re broken and your life is coming apart by the seams, will you still trust Him? If you are faithful and stand – even if it’s just you by yourself – the crown of life that the Lord Himself prepared for us is waiting for you (Revelation 21:4-5).
We live in a world that can hammer fear into our hearts, thus shaking the foundation on which we stand. In the midst of suffering, pain, testing, sorrows, we ask God “Will You be there?”, but are we listening for His answer? He says “Fear not”. No matter what you’re facing, be it sickness, unemployment, or death knocking on your door, He says not to fear for He has not given us a fearful spirit (2 Timothy 1:7). We are the ones that allow fear to squeeze faith out of our hearts and fear is not of God.
We’ll be a threat to the enemy before we’re attacked. Welcome to the Christian experience for it’s not all about smelling the roses leaving yourself vulnerable allowing the enemy to pounce. We shouldn’t bend to the rhapsody of the world no matter how melodious and harmonious it might sound and look.
It’s super easy to follow Jesus. The true test is when the going gets tough, will you stay when all the odds are stacked against you? When friends and family have given up on you, will you continue to stand with and for Jesus? When you’re broken and your life is coming apart by the seams, will you still trust Him?
The spiritual desert is not a nice place to be in. You can get agitated, lonely, and even anxious, but to be properly prepared and equipped for battle, this is the place that we eventually come to.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the Spiritual Desert, but I’ve been to that place at some point in my Christian walk. I felt doubtful; as if I was alone navigating through this vast desert as a stranger in a foreign land.
And I continue to aimlessly wander around the Desert, deep in my emotions wondering where was God in all of this. Knock, knock, God, where are You? Are You still there?
See, my experience was not even bad, but at the beginning, I aimlessly walked around in circles acting as if “Woe is me!” when in fact, God was there with me all along.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
God doesn’t forsake us, but we’ve forsaken Him. Time after time again. It’s like we trust Him with the minuscule matters, but not the big ones. The Desert is a place of testing and training. It’ll determine how weak or strong we are. We’ve seen Joseph go through his Spiritual Desert period in the form of training/tests while in prison for God was preparing him for a BIGGER task, and he couldn’t get there overnight. Moses spent his first 40 years in Pharaoh’s palace learning how to be a student and solider. The next 40 years of his life were spent in the desert taking care of his father-in-law’s flock of sheep. It was in this Desert, that the demoted Moses (from prince to shepherd) learned the qualities that he’ll need as Israel’s future leader and emancipator. He entered into the Desert as a dry cactus and left as a blooming one after his apprenticeship with God.
As I said at the beginning of this reflection, I used to go around the Desert feeling sorry for myself. Now, I don’t look at trials and tribulations in the same way anymore. Whenever I encounter them, I look towards God asking Him what He’s teaching me here. What lesson does He want me to learn? I’ve learned to trust Him even more during these times thus growing through these lessons. There is no need to fear these hardships when we go through them with faith in God for this period produces a quality we all need: patience (James 1:2-3).
To be in the desert is part of the Christian experience. Come on now, you can’t want the sweet-smelling savor without experiencing the bitterness! When we’re in the desert, we’re actually going through trials. And even if you don’t feel God, don’t think that He’s left us to face these battles on our own. He’s actually refining and sharpening us. He’s molding and humbling us to be more like Jesus. He’s strengthening us to weather these storms so that we may emerge not only victorious but stronger.
And then the tests that God wants us to pass are passed with flying spiritual colors and there’s rain in your Desert! A beautiful outpouring of rain that washes away the stench of the battle that you just been through. And you feel elated and happy, but most of all, you feel stronger because of God, for it is in the Desert that God teaches people Who He really is. It is there that we learn to trust a Known God to an unknown future.
Now, how does that feel?
Note: It’s weird that of all the things I could be inspired to write a post from, it steams from an MJ GIF for “Stranger In Moscow” (the 3rd one) again recalling Romans 8:28. This topic was heavy on my heart, but I kept putting it off until one night when it was past midnight and the house was quiet and God said that it was time to get the weight off my heart.
I was disappointed and almost gave up on writing this post as the page crashed twice and most of the words I wrote weren’t saved and I had to start all over again. But with the Holy Spirit, I persevered. When MJ wrote “Will You Be There”, I believe that he was in his own Spiritual Desert at the time and that’s the song I identify with most, but “Stranger In Moscow” was an eye-opening song for me where it concerns the emotional human heart.
When I was young, I felt as if I belonged nowhere. I did not fit into a society that demanded so many unethical things, and, I still don’t. However, the thing I wanted most was to move the farthest away from the village in which I grew up and so, I started saving up to purchase a house. But then medical problems arose and it was one thing after the other and before I knew it, the dream of acquiring a house went down the drain.
However, God intervened and led me to John 14:2 in which Jesus promises…
Lately, the verse is once again on my heart. Sabbath worship is just a taste in this life of the joys and delight in God’s house. I do have a place to live and a bed to rest my head on when the night falls, so I am utmost grateful that God has taken my mind away from temporal things.
And this is my reply to John 14:2:
Because…
May our hearts be continually set on desiring to be with the Lord.
Joy. It’s the main ingredient that God wants us to have in life. Take some time to think of how you’ve experienced joy in your relationship with Jesus and thank Him.
Talent. Don’t envy your neighbor because he/she has been blessed with more gifts than you. Instead, focus on the talent/s God has given you to bring glory and honor to His Name. Invest your time and talent/s in Him.
Solitude. Regularly seek God’s voice in the silence and solitude. Ignore your devices for a little while to focus your being on God.
Let us continually examine our heart daily as we prepare to meet the King.
Take some time this weekend to reflect on your walk with God and where you are in Him. May God bless you.
image via google search
Time stopped and everything around me suddenly came to a grinding halt. In that moment, I stood still with the world. I made a promise to myself to appreciate life more and the people in it. To give as much love as I can. To do His will.
Most of all, I promise myself to love life no matter where it may take me, as I continue to help others seek the pursuit of happiness.
I wrote those words last year November after I came across that photo of Tom Cruise looking out at the sea. I like attaching words to photos. 🙂
Every now and then, we have to sit and reflect on how far we’ve come, the goals we hope to achieve in x amount of time, but most of us, we have to reflect on our growth as an individual. So this week I’ll be doing a little reflection. Join me?
Possible topics:
^ How was your day?
> Entertainment then and now
^ Look back and thank Him for bringing you through
> Am I who I want to be?
^ Living for Him.
Sometimes we need to take time out of our busy schedules and just sit and reflect.
Ask yourself questions like: Am I where I want to be at this stage/age? Do I have any goals/dreams for 2017? What am I doing to achieve them? Do I like the person looking back at me from the mirror? Am I fulfilled? Am I completed?
Reflecting on the past and present can be beneficial for your future.
GIF via bleuchalou.centerblog.net
LPM Wordpress 