No Substitute for You and God

In a world with one-minute reels, social media sermons and 30 second affirmations I don’t want us to get to a place where we substitute the quick takes for time with God. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing better than leaning into the Lord – periodt.

I submit there are a multiplicity of ways to do that. Sincere messages of encouragement and thoughtful, balanced sermon snapshots can be a Godsend. I must balance this with another truth in hopes of filling your soul even more richly and deeply. None of those things can take the place of investing your own energy, time, and intension with the Lord. He’s waiting for you. He desires so much for you to draw near to Him, so that He can release into your day-to-day life the certainty of His presence to help you. Certainly, Spiritual guidance and direction, Pastoral care and counseling, and church are needed. God intended us to be connected vessels, not only connected to one another but personally connected to Him. A defining characteristic of the Christian faith is our belief in the resurrected Jesus Christ, and the relational Christ. The Lord desires an intimate personal relationship with you. While hearing from others is certainly biblical, we must still remember that God is waiting to release a potency that can only be accessed between the two of you.

I learned this in my own personal walk with the Lord. My father was my first real confidant and guide in my relationship dynamic with God. Although I was raised in the Catholic tradition as a child and young adult, my relationship with Jesus started with my writing letters to Him from the early age of seven or eight. After my dad’s death, even with great Spiritual guidance and advising over decades I continued to learn how to connect with and hear from the Lord on my own.

It wasn’t perfect, I made and still make mistakes and get things wrong, but my discernment and connection to Christ continues to evolve in strength and precision. The precision I’m talking about is the knowing that God will show up for me in my time of need. This doesn’t mean that Spiritual leadership is not needed, it simply means we must come into our own kinship with Him. In fact, this personal connection and intimacy should become a top priority. Otherwise, what happens is we become co-depends as distinct to developing and maturing Spiritually so that we can experience the presence and power of God when we need it. There will come times in life where the word we need and/or the movement we need to experience is right now.