Was journaling this morning and started thinking about the things in my life that have kept me from pursuing a deeper relationship with God over the years. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s a personal reflection that I think others can relate to too.
Distraction
We often don’t sit still long enough to get into God’s presence and build this essential relationship with him. There are enough responsibilities, entertainment options, and concerns/cares in life to keep us distracted for all eternity. We must be intentional and purposeful (or as some say, “mindful”) in our pursuit of God. He wants us to put all of our own distractions aside and come to him.
Discouragement
Sometimes it feels like things are never going to change and we want to drop everything and quit. When things don’t work out, we can feel defeated and fearful and like we are ready to give up. But sometimes this is actually the best thing we can do – STOP 🛑
We can stop trying to make things happen in our own strength and we can start pressing in to God. We can seek God first and look to him for the day by day guidance. This is the only way to prevent an 11-day journey from taking 40 years.
Doubt
We often doubt ourselves and our own abilities and gifts. But the beautiful thing here is that we don’t need to be able to do anything to serve God with our whole hearts – God is the one on the hook for doing the work. We just need to be available for him to use us. And to keep ourselves in a space of God-centeredness.
Disappointment
In relationships and life, none of us are short on having moments of disappointment and hurt. We don’t always live up to the expectations of others and we can say that others don’t always live up to ours, even those we love the most. These experiences can keep us from fully pursuing God and his invitation because we think He might let us down or we think he might disappoint us like people in our lives do. But God is not like men. When we get closer to Him he has a way of making crooked things straight. We can 💯 trust him and know that he will do what he’s promised and if he said it that it will come to pass. We can rest on his promises for our lives.