DO YOU HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS REGARDING CHRIST?

How easy it is to get off our spiritual track! Good intentions often mean just that, nothing more. Oh Lord, that we would hunger after You enough to make the time for intimate communion with You every day without fail. You are, after all, our sustenance.

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES        By Sally Bair

Good Intentions

One summer stood out in memory as the busiest and most fun ever. I put in several new perennial gardens, had lots of company, and did lots of traveling. I worked hard and played hard and enjoyed every bit of it.

The trouble is, I was just too busy for God. Oh, there’s nothing wrong in working hard and playing hard. But when I go for days hardly thinking about God, it ends up being a spiritual loss for me. A casual “thank you, Lord,” or a ten-word “arrow prayer” sent to God for a quick blessing or a need fulfilled, were not enough to sustain my Christian spirit. I felt deep regret for my lack of attention to God’s Word and His presence that summer.

I should have heeded the commands from the Bible, including Colossians 3:16: “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly ….” And that requires quality time with God, time I had failed to invest in. But from experience, I know that nothing compares with getting to know Christ more intimately and hearing His voice while in a quiet, private place.

Christ commands His followers to have an intentional relationship with Him. Sort of like a married couple making time together without distractions so they can truly share their most intimate thoughts and concerns. Some couples set specific dates and times for that purpose. Some spend a specific slot of time each day just to reconnect.

If we were to say to a friend, “Let’s get together sometime,” it wouldn’t happen unless a specific time were set. Psalm 1 speaks about the man who is blessed because “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.”  Good, two-way communication includes both prayer and listening. We can thank Him, praise Him, confess our sins and pray for our needs and the needs of others. We can even grouse and complain to God, as David did in the psalms. But we also need to listen—meditate—chew on His Word—hear His still, quiet voice. When we truly desire to hear from God, we will be drawn to His Word and presence every day, no matter how busy we are.

Lord, thank You for promising never to leave us or forsake us. We miss You when we let ourselves get too busy for Your Word and presence. Make us so hungry for You that we can hardly wait to make a date with You each day. In Jesus’ name, amen.