It's Been Awhile...

I know that it has been awhile since I posted last, as life has been quite busy.

And thinking upon that particular thought, the question that came to my mind was:
Has it been awhile since you last visited with your dear Friend, Jesus?

God promises us in His Word that, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Sometimes in my life, I have made choices that have left me wondering where God was in my life. The choices could have been as simple as deciding to work on the computer in the morning, rather than taking time to read the Scriptures and seek God's will for my day. The choice could have been out rightly deciding not to follow the Good Shepherd, straying from His path, allowing my feet to wander to the left or to the right. What I had to remember when I found myself stuck in the ditch I'd strayed into was that God hadn't left me or forsaken me. I was the one who had chosen to leave His will. It was up to me to return to Him. It was up to me to decide to seek His Word for the day. It was up to me to return to His paths of righteousness for my life. I was the one with an issue, not the Lord.

If I don't find the time in my daily life to spend time with Jesus, how else will I get to know Him? Relationships take time to develop, and it takes time to get to know someone intimately.
One of my favorite scriptures is Ephesians 3:14-19. It reads thus:

"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might
through His Spirit in the inner man,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and
height -
to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness
of God."

If I have not taken the time to get to know Him, how will I ever come to know the love of Christ, being filled with the fullness of God? I like to consider my relationship with my husband or my children when I consider my relationship with Jesus. If I didn't take the time to get to know my husband intimately, where would our relationship be today? He is the man that I share my life, my hopes, my dreams, and my disappointments and trials with. My relationship with Jesus should be even more intimate than this. He, after all, is my Savior, my Creator, my Hope. He is the One who knows me better than even my husband does. He is the One who sees all and knows all! I mentioned my relationship with my children, as well. I am God's child. Just as I can know and see what gifts are in my children, what they enjoy, what they dislike, Jesus knows and sees the same things in me. Just as I can encourage my children to pursue their dreams and interests and to grow in the things that I know are good for them, Jesus does the same for me. He loves me more than any other, including my husband and my children. Why wouldn't I want to spend time with Him, getting to know Him more intimately?

Thirdly, I am called to be like Christ in all that I say and do. Ephesians 5:1-2 says, "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." We are "living epsistles", seen by others on a daily basis. How will I get to know who Jesus is and how He would respond to any given situation if I wasn't spending time with Him? How would I know how to answer someone who has questioned me about my faith in God if I didn't regularly read His word and seek His voice in prayer?

Lastly, I consider it very important to spend time with the Lord, because He tells us to be aware of the times and the seasons. It is very important to know what His will is, and we cannot know His will unless we take the time to listen to Him. Matthew 24:42-44 says, "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." If I am too busy to spend time with Jesus, how will I know that the time is nearing for His return? I certainly don't want to get caught unaware, or sleeping on the job! It is my desire to know the will of God in these times. The only way that I can know these things is if I am spending time with the Lord and seeking His will.

So, I ask again, have you found yourself wondering where God has gone in your life? Have you taken the time to refocus on Jesus? I would encourage you today to seek His will, to visit with your Lord and Savior, to hear His voice in the midst of your circumstances, and to rest in knowing that He loves you more than you can comprehend!