Having Devotions that Change Your Life - Part 1 ~ by Amy Vest

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.

Together 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!

Our time with the Lord is so vital to our walk with Him! When we truly come into the Lord’s presence, meet with Him, and come to know Him in deeper and deeper ways, it will transform our lives. For as we truly meet with Him and come to know more of who He is, our love for Him will grow. As a result, we will desire to please Him with all of our lives, and our eyes will be opened in greater ways to who and how we should be, with the incredible comfort that He will be with us and give us the strength for each step. He is an incredible Lord, Savior, and Friend!

The saying "Who you spend time with, you become like," rings so true in a special way in our time with the Lord. We long to be like Jesus, don’t we? It is through our time spent with Him that we are changed into His likeness. As we meet with Him and experience for ourselves who our Lord is, we cannot help but become more like Him. When we come to know Him in a very real and personal way, we find that He is all that we need and that He fulfills every longing of our heart. It is so necessary that we come to this point of knowing and experiencing our Lord personally – for that is what transforms us! In coming into His presence, spending time in His Word, and communing with Him in prayer, we come to know His heart, receive His mind, and be filled with His likeness. Isn’t it a precious thing that the One who created and controls the universe loves us and delights in spending time with us?! It is the sweetest, most transforming time!

When we meet with the Lord, He gives us the strength to accomplish all that He has called us to do. Our quiet time with Him is the fuel for our spiritual engines – we will burn out otherwise. In our quiet times, as we surrender ourselves to the Lord as vessels for His use, He will fill us with His Spirit and do amazing things in and through us. My friends, we have a special treasure in our youth to focus solely on the Lord and to grow in our relationship with Him! Let us not waste it! This is the time when we are laying the foundation for our lives. The choices we make and the things we do now will drastically impact who we become. Our quiet time with the Lord (or lack thereof) plays a big role in this. Isn’t that an amazing, sobering thought?

The incredible delight and fulfillment that comes from knowing, obeying, and spending time with the Lord results in a truly exciting life. Let’s pour ourselves wholeheartedly into seeking the Lord and treasuring our time with Him! For He has promised us, "And you will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." – Jeremiah 29:13. The results will transform your life and bring you greater joy and fulfillment than you ever imagined!

...Part 2 on the "Ingredients and Other Ideas" for devotions coming next week!