Recently I was going through a strange place in my relationship with God. I don't even know if I would use the word "distant", but I could certainly tell that something was just off. In a time like this I know that the one thing we need to do is a self examination of our life. I've talked about this in past blogs, how we need to see what we have added or taken away from out life that could be doing harm to our relationship with God, but I nothing stood out to me. So I began to seek from the Lord what He wanted from me...and the answer was "extra". It wasn't that I started giving Him less, He just simply wanted more.
An analogy that I have used in the past is getting good as something. Whether it be a sport, a hobby, or simply a skill, if you want to take it to another level it is probably going to take more. More practice, more time spent doing it, more time learning about it, so why if God wants to take us to another level with Him would it not be the same way? Of course He would, but He needs us to be willing to do more, give more, spend more time with Him. 1 Chronicles 16:11 tells us "Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually". And Acts 17:27-28 says "so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being...". It's when I read verses like this that I see it can't just be about giving God some of our time....and if we aren't giving enough then we need to give more! I don't believe He will call us to more if we are not at a place with Him where we can handle it. God always sees our hearts, he sees the desires of our hearts....and He knows what it may take to get our hearts ready for more from Him....and in my case, I think it meant I needed to give more to Him. So I carved out more time in my day to spend with Him, and the difference I have felt from this change has been amazing.
I don't know to many people who truly love God that don't want to go to a deeper level with Him. But that may require asking Him what "extra" He would want from you. Then be willing to go there. The blessing that comes from it might be exactly what you need in your life right now, so don't miss out on all that He has for you by not taking the time to ask Him what He wants from you. My "extra" may not be the same as yours. Only God knows your heart the best and knows what is needed to get you to either a place you once were, a new place He wants you to be, or in preparation to take you to a place that He has for you in the future. God loves to see constant growth out of us. He loves to see us chasing after the desires of His heart for us. And the world we live in is constantly throwing obstacles our way to prevent this. Today, seek God's face, seek God's will and seek out if He is calling you to anything extra in your life.
God, thank You that You never want to leave us where we are. Please open our hearts to be obedient to Your call for more. Holy Spirit speak into us and show us the places we can go deeper if we only try. Then let that new level of deepness prepare us to be used even more by God. In Jesus name, Amen.
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