Time with the Lord is the sweetest thing on earth! It is the thing most necessary to draw us closer to Him! Through it we come to know Him, to understand His ways, and to see how we are to live. If we spend this time correctly, it will transform our lives.
Yet why is our time with the Lord one of the things that most easily slides from our schedule, or a time when we struggle to stay focused? Often it is because we forget its importance in our lives and the impact that it has on our relationship with the Lord, who we are, and the difference our lives make for eternity.
When we ask the question, "What is the most important thing in life?", the first thing that probably comes to our mind is – the Lord and our relationship with Him. This is absolutely the right answer, but I sometimes wonder if we live our lives in line with this answer. Friends, I am writing this from my heart and personal experience. We spend so much time talking and learning about it, but do we actually take the time to cultivate that personal relationship with the Lord? Or do we become so busy doing things for the Lord that we don’t take time to be with Him? We take time to do all the things that are required to stay alive – eating, sleeping, showering, etc. In the same way, our quiet time with the Lord is so necessary for our spiritual survival.
My devotions are my most treasured part of the day. I cherish my time with the Lord, but at times I find myself allowing the length of it to be shortened, or struggling with becoming distracted during it. I find that the cause of these problems is that I have unconsciously undermined the importance of my time with the Lord. I have allowed less important things or activities (sleep, tasks, etc.) to take my time or distract me from the most important Person and activity in my life.
Over the next 3 days, we are going to look together at: 1. The immeasurable importance and treasure of our time with the Lord, 2. The ingredients to how we can make it a meaningful and life-changing part of our lives, and 3. Other ideas!
Today let's remember the Lord's promise - "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you..." James 4:8
