What are the signs that inform you that you’re “off” and that you’re no longer walking in the Spirit on God’s path? Too busy to pray? Rush through your “quiet time” with God? Don’t remember the last time you cracked open God’s Word? Life is packed full of other things? Nothing seems to be going right? Exhausted and irritable? Making more mistakes and bad decisions? Lacking peace, power, or purpose? Relational conflicts? Can’t sleep or sleep too much? Turning to soothers instead of turning to God? Blaming people for your feelings or for your problems? Can’t seem to hear from God? Not feeling connected?
Why is it so hard to remain deeply connected to God? Jesus invites us into a close friendship with Him. He offers His Spirit, His presence, His life-giving Word, His power, His peace, His unfailing love, and His provision for our every need. In fact, our very lives and our breath and everything we are and have come from Him. But we’re still all like sheep who go astray. We leave the Lord’s path. We know He’s the way, the truth, and the life. We even know that nothing works without Jesus.
Is it our “human nature” to wander off and to keep searching for something else to make us feel good or to feel more successful? Have we said too many “yeses” to the things of this world? Have we lacked boundaries to protect what is most sacred? Are we gradually conforming ourselves to the patterns and products of this world and thus becoming products of our disconnected generation? Are we consumed, distracted, worried, angry, passionate, or preoccupied with something else?
The good news is that our Father’s arms are wide open for us to return to Him and to be restored by Him. No matter how far off course that we’ve drifted, God keeps calling our name. He knows how to get our attention. Sometimes it takes more drastic measures for God to wake us up and get us back on track with Him. The Lord disciplines us in love, and He relentlessly pursues us until He’s the Lord of all.
I think it’s hard to stay closely connected. It’s hard to remain in Him. It’s hard to become and stay spiritually-rooted. It’s way-too-easy to go off-course and to pursue our own interests and desires. All we have to do is to start feeding something other than our relationship with Jesus. If we just start reading, listening, and paying attention to what the world is writing or saying or producing or selling, we become their byproduct. If we turn to digital conversations instead of having real relational and spiritual conversations, we go south. If we don’t make time to stop and to listen, to reflect, and to wait on the Lord each day because we’ve filled our lives with something or someone else, then we will experience disconnection, loneliness, hurried frustration, and discouragement.
Developing strong relationships that last and get better over time require commitment. We have to daily pay attention and listen and live in one another’s preferences. We have to love and care and sacrifice and do what deepens our attachment and connectedness. We have to turn off our screens. We have to clear our schedules. We have to listen long and listen well. We have to work and play together. We have to give up trying to get our own way and just do what others love to do. We have to daily do what makes them feel loved and valued and never stop doing it. Why? Because we love them and because we’re more committed to them than we are to anyone or anything else.
The same is true with our relationship with God. If we truly love Him, we will listen to Him, obey Him, and follow Him. If we love the Lord, we will eliminate the competitors and remove the distractions to give Him our undivided attention and allegiance. We’ll become long-term students of Jesus’ school of love, grace, and truth, and we’ll integrate and embody what He teaches as we become like our Teacher. As we follow our Teacher wherever He leads us and say whatever words that He gives us to speak, our actions will reflect our Maker, and in the process, we will influence others to join us in following Jesus.
When we’re on—we’re good. When we’re off—we’re not. It doesn’t take twenty questions to figure out when we’re on or when we’re off-course with God. All we have to do is to look in the mirror or look into the eyes of those who know us best. We can’t fake off or on. It’s obvious. We can’t fool ourselves, our families, our friends, or God. On feels so good. It’s fresh. It’s new. It’s right. It’s true. It fits. Being off may take some time to notice, but no one wants our leftovers. No one wants our divided attention, divided heart, or divided love. No one wants us to hear just some of what they’re saying.
Although it may sound funny, I don’t like myself without my fresh cup of Tim Horton’s coffee. I can’t focus without it. I also don’t deserve to be around or to help people unless God has filled me up with His love and His Word that’s been digested and ready to translate into the language of those that I encounter. Just as I like my coffee hot and fresh, people who are called Christians only reflect Christ well when our faith is hot and fresh. If our mood, attitude, or comments are off, we sour the gospel and deflect instead of reflect Jesus Christ.
I love to drive up to Tim Horton’s and hear, “Welcome to Tim Horton’s. What can I make fresh for you?” How do you welcome people into a new, fresh relationship with Jesus Christ each day? His mercies are new and fresh every morning. Why not start your day fresh with a cup of coffee or tea, time alone with God in His Word and prayer, and spend the rest of the day sharing your fresh faith with your family, friends, and coworkers?