Who are you Following?
Who are you following? Do you trust their every word? Admire their example? Invest time daily listening to or reading up on what they have to say? Do you follow them so closely that you want to have exactly what you see in THEIR life? Courage. Faith. Hope. Friends. Love. Joy. Purpose. Perfect family. (cough, cough!) I’m not saying it’s wrong to want all of those things, but who are you trying to be?
In Max Lucado’s Devotional, Grace for the Moment, he talks about how we are quick to listen to and depend on others for our spiritual development because we’re too busy to spend time with God. He says this: “So rather than spend time with God, listening for his voice, we’ll let others spend time with him and then benefit from their experiences. Let them tell us what God is saying. After all, isn’t that why we pay preachers?” He adds, “If that is your approach, if your spiritual experiences are secondhand and not firsthand, I’d like to challenge you with this thought: Do you do that with other parts of your life? You don’t do that with vacations. You don’t do that with romance…. There are certain things no one can do for you. And one of those is spending time with God.”
I’ve had this (the above) on my mind for a long time. Although I love how we have the freedom to share what we see God doing, it seems like many people are totally missing out on the true joy and firm foundation that God desires. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems many shape their faith through blogs, friends, books etc.. rather than spending time developing their own relationship with God. I believe we need to seek HIM – HIS Word…. first. The rest (friends, books, and so on) is icing on the cake.
There. I’ve said it. I pray that anything that I’ve ever shared has pointed my friends to the Lord. Period. I am not an expert on anything, and my life is far from perfect. I am a sinner, but by the grace of God – I am saved. I love to share God’s lessons and blessings, but certainly not for my glory. My joy comes from knowing that God loves me regardless of all the many mistakes that I’ve made.
If you are searching for that love that is out of this world, wisdom, truth, purpose, hope and joy, even in the midst of a storm – start with Him. Pray. Study His Word. Go to church. Listen for HIS voice. Talk to your brothers and sisters-in-Christ. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat….and be blessed.
Live-Write 