Have you ever wondered why some people have a close, intimate, life-giving relationship with God, and others do not? Have you ever considered why some Christians radiate God’s love, joy and peace, and other Christians seem harsh, negative and burdened? Ever asked yourself why you can see the love of Christ in one person’s facial expressions, or in the way she handles life’s hardships, or the way she treats other people? Or why one woman continues to grow in her love, knowledge and obedience to Christ and another woman falters? How come one believer’s faith flourishes and another believer’s faith stagnates?
Have you ever wondered why you seem stuck on a spiritual plateau?
The answer is simple, really. We grow in our relationship with God to the degree that we cultivate our relationship with God.
If this is true—and I believe it is—the natural question then, becomes “How can I cultivate my relationship with God?” No true believer sets out to become lukewarm or ineffective in their walk with God, but far too many do because they fail to do two simple things:
1. Get God’s truth in.
2. Work God’s truth out.
We get God’s truth in when we read God’s word, hear God’s word, speak God’s word, and think about God’s word. But let’s get real here: Most believers know they should read God’s word on a regular basis, but few do. We get busy, bored, distracted or confused, and somewhere along the way we take in less of God’s truth than we need to thrive in our walk with Christ. We become spiritually anorexic. So what’s a spiritually stuck girl to do? Nourish your soul with these helpful tips:
1. Pick a book of the Bible and work your way through it.
If you are anything like me, if you don’t have a Bible reading plan, you’ll waste precious minutes thumbing through the Bible, never quite landing. Instead, pick one book of the Bible and read a little each day, one chapter, perhaps. If you are new to the Bible, start with the book of John, which is the story of Jesus and was written to help us believe. Then move on to the other gospels – Matthew, Mark or Luke. Philippians, Ephesians and Colossians provide practical encouragement for living the Christian life. Romans is full of great doctrine. Genesis tells us how it all began. Work your way through one book at a time, and you’ll never find yourself fumbling for where to read again.
2. Commit to reading a few minutes each day.
Getting God’s word into your life doesn’t have to take long. Start small—five or ten minutes is better than none. Sometimes less is more, especially when reading less means you’ll actually remember more.
3. Pray this before you begin….
What’s the “this”, I’m referring to? It’s a simple prayer I pray before I read the Bible each day, and it’s revolutionized my time with God: “Lord, if you were here with me right now (and You are, because You are everywhere), what would You say to me today?” When I pray this prayer, I open my heart to allow God’s word to be personal to me; to my life, my circumstances, my relationships, my questions, my concerns, my heartaches, my needs.
4. Read until a verse resonates with you, then stop.
Getting God’s word” in”, means allowing God’s word to penetrate your thoughts and perspectives. When a verse resonates with you—when a verse relates to something you are going through, something you’ve been grappling with or something you need—God is speaking to you. Pause. Let it sink in. To help remember and further meditate on what God is saying to you, write the verse down, word for word. This practice has cemented God’s word into my thoughts in countless ways. Sometimes I keep the verse with me throughout the day. Sometimes I ask God to help me remember it, when I need it. Sometimes I memorize it. Be intentional about getting God’s word into your thoughts and you’ll soon see your relationship with God not merely survive, but thrive.
Do you want to thrive in your relationship with God? To you want to grow? To be a person who overflows with the love, joy, peace and patience God promise to those who are filled up with His Holy Spirit? Then fill yourself up with His word on a consistent basis. Your soul needs it.
(the above post is an excerpt from Donna’s book Seek and from an article written for Armed magazine.)
9:26 AM
Donna~ I love this! This is such a wonderfully practical article. In my online ministry, people often ask me how to grow in their faith. I offer to disciple them (in the basics of Christianity) and many times it works out well, however, there are times when people don’t write back. If I share these suggestions with them, whether they respond to my emails or not, they will have great suggestions on how to grow in their faith. I know too, that the Lord will honor their obedience to take steps to cultivate their relationship with Him. I am going to share this article with the on-line missionary group that I oversee as well. Thank you, I can’t wait for part two!