This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. {Psalm 118:24}
The Lord created the whole heaven and earth and everything in it in six days. On the seventh day the Lord rested. Sometimes when we set up goals and tasks we like to get them done in one fell swoop. We want to get it over with and then move on to the next big thing. I wrote about my goals in my previous blog post Getting Refocused For The New Year. In it I laid out my plan in regards to my relationship with the Lord, trying to get more of God in my life. My aim in this blog post today is to encourage you and me to take our walk with God one day at a time. Having God and knowing God is a process. It takes one day at a time, a daily abiding with the Lord, and getting our spiritual manna for the day. The Lord commanded the children of Israel during their time in the wilderness to gather only enough manna they could eat in one day. He got mad at them when they would take in more than what they could eat in one day, and the next day any leftovers had worms. The Lord wanted them to trust in Him and have faith in Him to provide for their needs everyday. It’s the same thing with our walk with God. He wants us to depend on Him everyday for our strength. We can’t pray for two hours one day and expect that to carry us through the rest of the week. I don’t know how anyone could eat for one day and expect to last for the rest of the week without going hungry again. It’s the same with our walk with the Lord. It is crucial that we talk to Him every day and make time for Him every day, so we can progress in our relationship with Him. We may feel a little bit antsy sometimes because we’re not getting anywhere. But trust me on this, if you make it a habit to commune with the Lord everyday, it will really add up over time and you will progress mightily.
Here is my recommendation to start with:
- Read your Bible say for a chapter a day, then talk to Him from your heart for half an hour or more (or as long as you can and need to).
- Then, sing a song or two to Him.
- Then listen to a preaching or an inspirational talk by a minister or a preacher on the radio or the internet (maybe on your drive to or from work everyday).
Instead of listening to some music or talk shows on the radio, why not listen in on God’s word and grow in love with the Lord in the process? There are 365 days and 52 weeks in a year. If we make it a habit to talk to the Lord and listen to and read His word everyday, by this time next year we will all be a different and happier person, guaranteed. We will have grown much closer to the Lord. It doesn’t take a lot to do this either. I’m sure if we ask the Lord to help us and find an hour or more to make time for Him, He will show us. Remember, having God and knowing God is the greatest thing we will ever accomplish and gain in this life. Nothing is more important than God. When we find ourselves standing in front of the Judgment Seat of Christ someday and we’re getting judged by Him, nothing else is going to matter then except our relationship with Him. When He asks us what we’ve done for Him we won’t have to cringe that we didn’t do anything really, or were careless about it. We won’t have to be ashamed.
In the blog post I recently wrote The Challenge of Loving God, I talked about what is important to God when it comes to our relationship with Him. We may think doing righteous works and sacrifices are important to showing God we love Him, but those are actually just a secondary thing to Him. The most important thing to the Lord is our spending time with Him – talking to Him and opening up our hearts to Him in prayer. He rebuked the church of Ephesus in Revelation in regards to this. They became so busy in doing church work that they’ve abandoned Him. He told them He recognized their righteous works and sacrifices, but He told them they’ve left their first love. It’s because they stopped spending time with Him. Spending time with the Lord and talking to Him is crucial for Him to be able to deal with us, and to teach us how to grow with Him. Without it we will never know who He is. Reading about God is not enough. We must also talk to Him. Reading someone’s biography is not going to make us know the person intimately, compared to meeting them and talking to them face to face. When we spend time talking to the Lord, and seeking His face everyday in prayer and reading His word, we are coming face to face with Him and coming to know who He is for ourselves. The Lord tells us to abide in Him daily, because without Him we are nothing. He tells us,
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. {John 15:5}
He also tells us,
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. {Luke 9:23}
This walk with God must be done daily, one day at a time. We can’t follow the Lord if we’re not abiding in Him, talking to Him and reading His word everyday. If we can spend time watching TV, talking and texting on the phone, and surfing the Internet, we can definitely find the time to spend with the Lord.
In order for us to progress in our walk with Him and in our relationship with Him, we have to do it everyday. We have to depend on Him for our daily spiritual bread. We have to take up our cross everyday and follow Him. It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming thing either. It doesn’t have to take your whole day talking to Him (though we can certainly learn to be in tune with Him all day long once we have more of Him). You don’t have to be on your knees or closeted in your bedroom all day long, unless you have chosen or planned to do this. We can plan our time with Him everyday where it’s doable and easy. He will show us how if we ask Him. Once He shows us we can commit to it in our hearts and treat it like it’s the most important task we will ever do in this life, because it is. Remember our life here on this earth is very temporary. The life that is coming is for eternity. We definitely want to prepare for it and make sure of our salvation with Him, everyday.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. {Galatians 2:20}
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. {Romans 12:2}
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. {Philippians 1:21}
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank You Father for Your sweet love upon me today. I thank You that Your love is faithful and steadfast until the end. I thank You that I can find You everyday no matter what my situation is and wherever I find myself in, if I would just call upon You with all of my heart.
Please Lord Jesus, help me to talk to You everyday. Help me to commit my thoughts and my works to You everyday and find my hope and strength and purpose in You. Without You I am nothing. You are the most important thing to pursue in this life. Nothing else is greater than You. Help me then please Father to draw nearer and closer to You everyday. Help me to love You everyday. I pray Father in Your most wonderful and precious name, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Amen.
