Tonight's Word 🌱

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise."

-Psalm 51:17

Have you ever been in a relationship or heard someone who is in a relationship complain that their partner doesn't make time for them or doesn't pay attention to them? Maybe you yourself have been the one guilty of this too? Perhaps crucial elements like communication, honesty, humility have broken down, and the closeness and intimacy that was once shared that brought the two individuals together in the first place have sort of fallen through the widening distance and faded into familiarity. While this may not necessarily be the end of the world for the relationship, it does weaken it. Experts have often shared that relationships are like plants, and just as plants need certain things to grow well, it is of great benefit when partners can among many other things, maintain date nights, shared activities or goals, or even accessing prayer and counselling when challenges can seem insurmountable.

The human relationship was designed to reflect, to a certain extent, the spiritual relationship God desires for us to have with Him. A relationship with our Lord and Saviour can begin in so many ways, but usually the commitment is sealed in baptism. Oftentimes, we start off excited, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, happy to join the family of God in a local congregation, eager and willing to serve and share Jesus and our testimony with others. However, after a while, perhaps with distractions or an eventual creeping in of complacency, the passion can die. God desires our relationship with Him to be alive, connecting us to His will, and inspiring love and obedience in our daily life, advancing the mission of salvation, and looking forward to His second coming, where we can be reunited with Jesus, the One who loved our souls so much that He laid down His life for us.

How can we maintain and strengthen this important relation with Jesus? I recently came across this lovely list and I found it to be such a good and timely reminder, I now have it saved it as my wallpaper. I thought of sharing it with you too.

If we are having difficulty in getting back to the passion of our first and eternally saving love, sometimes we just may need to stop the music. The music that is playing in the background. This music that dulls our senses to the Holy Spirit, that fuels the constant quest for a 'good time', the drive to 'fit in' by any means necessary, and the never-ending dissatisfaction with what we have that is reflected in our ongoing search for more. The music that convinces us that we must be pumped, shiny, bedazzling, and appealing if we are to be relevant to anyone, even our own selves. Sometimes, we need to allow our being to breathe, to look inward and upward, to sense its true spiritual state, and determine: Am I where I want to be with the Lord? Do I sense God's presence? Do I desire Him? Am I truly aligned to His will or have I been serving more of my own interests? If I were to close my eyes in sleep today or tomorrow, will I be able to appreciate eternity with Jesus? Have I mislead or hurt anyone by my actions or lack thereof? Sometimes, just sometimes, we have to clear the stage, and start back a revival in our own lives as individuals. This relationship is the most treasured one of all.

Prayer

Loving and faithful Father, thank you for the opportunity to open up our hearts once again to You. You are the still small voice that continues to speak to our hearts, yearning for us to be close to, guided by, receptive to, and in tune with Your Spirit. Father, forgive us for failing to create the atmosphere in our lives where communion with You is regularly practised and nurtured. We ask that Your Holy Spirit convicts us of our true state, and of what may be negatively affecting our relationship with You. Give us the strength to let go of what may be holding us back from fully experiencing walking with You, release us from what may be distracting us away from You, and draw us close to You Lord, as we draw close to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Be blessed by this song of reflection and consecration, an all-time favorite sobering song on my playlist. 🎧🙏🏼

Clear the Stage [Jimmy Needham]