God, Grace, & So Much More

I wasn't quite sure what to title this blog, but God's been speaking a lot to me, and definitely doing a lot in me, and with the new school year having started, I figured it was time to write a new blog. So here goes...

Looking back on this summer, it's crazy to be out on "the other side" of all the difficulties, challenges, and victories I went through, and to see now why God allowed to happen what happened, and to see the drastic changes He did in me. I know one of the biggest things He did in me was teach me to be more dependent on Him. I know how easy it can be to become dependent ourselves, another person, or the world--many of us are financially stable, have both our parents, and are pretty well off. Know my heart when I say this, but some of us don't "need" God.

Crazy thing is... we do need Him. No matter how blessed, provided for, wealthy, taken care of, we are, we need Him. Everything isn't always going to be okay, and some day, we very easily could lose everything to our name: our family, our house, our possessions, our wealth, and so on. We need Him. And despite His not needing us, He wants us. Crazy, eh?

God's been showing me lately what it means to be in a relationship with Him. What it truly means. I read in a workbook called "Expericing God," that "Our relationship with God doesn't come from a quiet time with Him, but our quiet time with God comes from a relationship with Him." I didn't quite understand that until tonight... I spent some quiet time with God, in worship and in prayer, and you know what? I haven't had a decent "quiet time" in weeks--but when I took the time to spend some time with Him, He was faithful to be there. I spent time with Him because I knew that we had that kind of relationship. God doesn't come to us with an agenda, a set of rules, an expectation-- "Well, you have to read your Bible every day, and you need to pray for at least 60 minutes every night..."-- no. God's not like that. He loves us and appreciates any time He can get with us. And since He's always with us, well, aren't we always spending time with Him? Think about it. When you spend time with your brother or sister, for instance, you aren't always doing the same thing. Sometimes you watch TV, sometimes you go out for dinner, sometimes you play catch, whatever--you're not always doing the same thing, and it's not that way with God either. Sometimes you're praying, sometimes you're reading your Word, sometimes you're praying for someone, sometimes you're simply watching TV--and God's right there with you.

So let this be a challenge for you. Spend time with God--bring Him into everything that you do: sports, work, school, homework (yes, it is possible), working out... He's always there. And if you happen to not read your Bible one night, or spend time in prayer, don't beat yourself up. God doesn't. He doesn't put pressure or condemnation on us, so why should we?