Flat and insipid? Can your connection with God really get that way? You didn’t used to think so, but now you find it is. How did it get that way? Could it be you’re walk with Him has ground to a halt or gotten sidetracked by goals and ambitions that don’t include Him? Could it be that those same goals and ambitions are even at odds with maintaining a healthy and growing connection to Him? There’s no way to build and develop a real, relevant relationship with God if you don’t devote serious face time with Him. Think about it. How close could you be to your spouse, your child, or friends if you only connected with them once or twice a week for a few minutes? You couldn’t really call it a meaningful relationship. How can you be close to God when you’re off wandering around and doing things that keep you from Him? Answer’s obvious – you can’t.
It’s time to spiritually “man-up.” If you want closeness and connection with God, you’re going to have to give more of yourself and your time to Him. It’s not rocket science - James shares this simple spiritual principle to those who found that their relationship with God had become flat and insipid: “Come close to God, and God will come close to you (James 4.8a).” Pretty straightforward!
In every relationship, you get what you put into it. Give a little - and get a little back! Most people will drop out of your life if you’re not “there.” Sometimes we discover this too late, usually after we’ve lost a spouse, a child, or a great friend. Rebuilding those bridges may take years … maybe never!
Good thing God isn’t like us. He doesn’t get hurt or pull away. He’s always standing by an open door waiting for you to realize what you’ve been missing. He uses the emptiness and “blah-ness” of your spiritual life to let you know your “God-meter” is tanking out and that you’re running on fumes. Something essential is missing and it’s time to honestly evaluate where things are going with you and Him. At this point, that’s usually nowhere.
So where to begin? How about that “face time” we talked about? Remember when you first hooked up with God? How you couldn’t get enough of Him; how you loved talking to Him; how you couldn’t wait to act on His promptings; how you hungrily ate up all you could know about Him; how you looked forward to spending time just hanging out with Him and other Christians who were just as excited as you? You can get it back by investing your self, your time, your energy, and your passion.
How? Get real with God and take responsibility for letting the connection grow cold. Don’t blow past it as though it never happened. That’s kind of insulting and it leaves a lot of awkwardness in the friendship until it gets dealt with. The great thing is God won’t hold it against you. Knowing how you feel and that you want to make it better, He’ll say, “It’s okay, let’s move on and work at making our friendship even tighter.”
Spend time talking with God on a regular basis. Get real with Him and He’ll be real with you. The more time chatting with God and getting His advice and direction the more you’ll find that old feeling of “I feel good with God.”
Get reacquainted by spending time in the Bible and discovering more about what God has to say and how that’s worked itself out in the lives of other people just like you.
Rediscover God’s plan to work through you to grab the world. Use those gifts, abilities and skills. He’s turned over to you to use for Him! Make a real difference in the lives of others.
Hook back up with other Christians if you’ve “dropped out” for awhile. Spend time worshipping God and hear what He specifically has to say to you in the pastor’s message, pray for others, and connect with a growth group where you can combine your experiences, efforts, and abilities to achieve great things for God’s kingdom.
There’s no shortcuts, no silver “spiritual” bullets to give you a great connection with God. Just give what you find most difficult to give in your busy life - your time and your self. But what you’ll gain is a powerful and vibrant connection with God in return. Then hold on!
- Jim Swinford
Pastor Nate was asked to write a short article for the Buckeye Valley News as they publish the newspaper this Christmas week. Check out his article about the meaning of Christmas for us as a church here in the local community:
