Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Try it. You'll like it.

The reason I know of one great mystery that baffles many Christians, is because it baffled me for many years. When I became a Christian as a young adult, it took me several years to grow into the "things"  Christians do.  I was taught to read the Bible every day. Check. Well, only on really good days when I thought about it. Pray. Check. Well, not an attitude of prayer without ceasing, but I believed in the power and tried to remember to pray. Volunteer in the church. Check. Never miss a service unless you are dying. Check.  Attend Bible study. Check.
Now, I was doing all the "things" Christians do, so why did I have this great mystery that I couldn't figure out?  The question was.. how can I be doing all of these things and not have a great desire to read my Bible or to pray?  I would have to schedule a devotion time and mark it off my "to do" list.  It was right up there with exercise. I would see people so excited about what God was doing in their lives and so faithful to the Word. They seemed to actually want to read the Bible and pray about everything. I would doze off after reading a few verses. I would drudge through my Bible study lessons, skipping where I could. Where was that burning desire for me? I wanted it but how to get it remained a mystery for many years.  I had salvation. I lacked the active relationship with the One who saved me.
As I look back, I wonder how I could've missed it. But, as I look around, I see people filling our pews that are missing it.  I want to scream at them.. "Don't miss it!".
The wonderful, amazing, profound answer for me has been.... The more I talk to God, the more I hear His voice. The more I hear His voice, the more He works through me. It is exhilerating to see His mighty hand at work. It is addicting to serve Him and watch people see Him. It is a high that no drug on earth can duplicate to see a miracle that only God could have orchestrated. And the only way to get more of it, is to spend more time in His Word and with Him. The more time spent listening to the Father, the more we know His will.  We don't have to chase after God's will for our lives! We can just chase after God and we will know His will.  And He will pour it on! It is a beautiful thing to have. It is a relationship that fulfills like no other.
I know that a lot of people will not want it bad enough. It means giving up stuff. It takes time. Most times the things He asks us to do will not be convenient or comfortable. But in the end, it is the best thing and if you ever got even a small taste of what it feels like, you will not be able to get enough.  But, Satan doesn't like this kind of Holy Spirit power. So, be forewarned...when you fall in love with spending time with Jesus, your greatest enemy will be distraction.  Fight against it. You will never be perfect. You will mess up every single day. Spend time in prayer and ask God to use you and be WILLING to do whatever He leads you to do. Even if it is out of your comfort zone. Search His word and make yourself available. Pray about everything throughout your day. Not a religious sounding prayer but TALK to Him.  Be willing to ask God to empty you of you and fill you with Him.  It is addicting and exhilerating. Try it. You'll like it.

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