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Lose weight. That’s the obvious number one New Years’ Resolution. But a close second for me is usually “be a better Christian.” I’ve walked with Jesus for over 33 years and the longer this relationship goes, the more I realize how genuinely terrible I am at being in a loving, committed relationship with the King of the Universe.
I am not great at having a daily time of devotion. Sure, I read the Uplifting Word of the Day on the radio – I grab snippets of God’s Word here and there, but quiet, alone time with God is hard.
It’s hard (for me) for several reasons:
Firstly, I have an overactive imagination. In quiet spaces my mind runs wild. Taming it takes a lot of focus. (What were we talking about? Oh yeah…)
Secondly, I have a young family, so it feels like any time I give to God, work, or myself comes at my family’s expense. That might not be the case, but it feels like that most days.
And finally, I avoid quiet times with God because I HATE confronting just how much I need Grace.
If it weren’t for Grace, we’d all be dead forever. God gave us the law (Old Testament peeps, where y’at!?) so we could understand, it’s IMPOSSIBLE. Only one person ever kept the law, and He wrote it and then fulfilled it for us. (Jesus. I’m talking about Jesus.)
“God saved you by grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Ephesians 2:8-9
Dang. It. I mean “Praise Jesus!” Maybe I mean both.
If you are on social media at all, it is easy to feel like you are not doing as well in life as everyone else. If you follow Christian leaders on social media you REALLY start to feel like you are failing at being a Christian. Remember, they are only posting victories. They are only sharing a brief glimpse into a life filled with the same struggles we all face.
Don’t be down on yourself if you have a long way to go in your walk with God. Cause guess what: WE ALL DO!
This is not a self-help post, BUT, I do have one suggestion on how to increase your daily time with Jesus and your consumption of His Word:
Read the LifeSongs Uplifting Word each morning – and then pull up the entire chapter that the verse is from and read that. (Sometimes I’ll have to do a little digging to get the History and context of the passage.)
Other than that – keep on keeping on, my friends. One day the struggle will be over and hopefully our Father will smile at us and all insecurities and shoulda-coulda-woulda’s will melt away.