Nothing in my life has been successful if God wasn’t present.
One of my favorite bible verses is Isaiah 55:8-9. It is a sweet reminder that no matter what “plans” I may think I have, His are better. I’m confident that my dreams are incomparable to the plans He has for me.
This is where my faith and trust in Him rest.
It rests in knowing that despite whatever may be tangible around my earthly eyes, He’s ultimately in control. It rests in knowing that He has a purpose and plan for my life beyond whatever I can fathom.
Throughout my life, I’ve faced challenges and in the midst of them all, I’ve had to cling to God. I clung to Him like a child wrapped around their parent’s leg while assessing the intentions of an intimidating stranger. When I tell you I literally could not do life without Him, I mean it.
When I do find myself in a place of being contempt, unaware of figuring out “what’s next”, I’m usually able to identify the gaps I’ve created in my life away from Him. In these moments I recognize I’ve begun to try and live a life without intentionally creating time for Him.
Let’s be real, it happens to all of us. Life hits us, we get into “busy” seasons, and our priorities shift. No matter the season though, we have to be intentional with always placing Him at the top of our list. He tells the best secrets, wipes away our tears, carries all of our burdens, and loves us unconditionally. We can’t forget, He too also desires to see your face and spend quality time basking in His presence.
There’s a list of things I almost always check off to ensure I’m being intentional with my relationship with Christ. How this list looks may vary from season to season but it’s prioritized to be accomplished in some form.
1. Set Time and Place
There’s always time for Him. As I’ve shifted from season to season in life, I’ve learned this lesson. We make time for the things we really want to make time for.
Think about it. There’s something in your life that’s consistent no matter where you are in life. It could be your daily talks with your best friends, quiet time with your favorite novel, time to workout, or even the time to scroll on social media and catch up on the news. These things aren’t wrong, but they are unhealthy distractions when you haven’t given Him your attention.
So what’s one of the best ways to ensure that you’re intentionally giving Him your time? Set a time and place. All of the important things in our life are planned; work is placed on our set schedule, the hot date we’ve been dying to go on is placed on our schedule, happy hour with friends is placed on our schedule. When we apply this same principle to our time with God, we will quickly find that “not having the time” is not an option.
Spending time with Him will become the norm in our day to day life when our time and location are intentionally set.
2. Having A Set Community
When it comes to staying plugged in in a community consistently I am guilty as charged.
As an introvert, I love being in my bubble. I often time become very uncomfortable when my bubble is infiltrated with anyone outside of my family.
If you’ve read my previous boldness post your aware of my desire for creating more intentional relationships. Unfortunately, this desire hasn’t been completely fulfilled yet because of the coronavirus. But, I have made leaps and bounds in just being more transparent and open with someone outside my sweet husband.
We’re not meant to do life alone.
I often reflect on Ecclesiastes 4:8-12 to reiterate this thought.
God wants us to thrive in a community of like-minded believers for support, accountability, to serve, and to be poured into.
I’m so incredibly grateful for a family that loves God. It’s such a simple revelation that I wasn’t able to truly appreciate until well into my adulthood. Amid seasons of transition, I’ve always had my family to confide in when there are moments I need to be pointed back in the direction of God. Beyond accountability, I’ve also had my family to celebrate godly milestones with as well!
Shawn and I have been married for over 3 years, and I have seen family pray over us in every season. Community is everything. Our village is amazing.
While I’d love to develop this mentality of serving and belonging to a community more, I can’t help but appreciate the portion He’s given us and we’ve served already.
3. Find The Right Resources
What a time to be alive. There are absolutely no excuses when it comes to figuring out what to do during your time with Him. Don’t have a bible? Download the YouVersion Bible, it’s free. Don’t know what to listen to during worship time? Find a Worship playlist on Youtube or Spotify (here’s my Youtube playlist) and sit still in His presence and wait for Him to speak.
I’ve talked about intentionally worshipping daily in a previous blog and I’m here to reiterate it again because it’s hands down one of my favorite things to do with God. It ushers in His spirit and His peace in such an incomparable and beautiful way. I get butterflies every time I think about the day we’ll all be able to rejoice in heaven and worship at His feet.
For me, reading the Bible, on the other hand, isn’t always the easiest thing to do. It can be absolutely overwhelming to know what to read or where to start in certain seasons of our life.
But the Bible is a non-negotiable must. It’s the framework of our lives as Christians. We wouldn’t be able to function in all that He has for us if we didn’t spend time breaking down and understanding the very guide book He’s given to all of us.
On occasions, I love using bible studies and guides to walk through the Bible. There have been times I’ve used the free ones offered on the YouVersion app and there have also been times I’ve purchased studies to use.
If you’re at the beginning of trying to break down the Bible or need a refresher course, I highly recommend the Seamless study by Angie Smith.
I’ve also spent time watching free videos by the Bible Project. When I first came across them I fluidly watched a video for every chapter of the bible. These are very helpful to watch before you start a new chapter to get a better understanding of context and background knowledge. They have videos that cover both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Lastly, within the last month, I’ve stumbled across The Daily Grace Co., there’s a free guide they send out (not including shipping) that beautifully breaks down ways to study the word and pray effectively. I’ve picked up a couple of their actual studies and I’m super excited to dive into those.
The enemy wants us to believe that having a relationship with God is complex; that it’s this orchestrated ordeal that’s oftentimes inconvenient and hard to achieve. Reality is, that it’s not.
He wants us to be intentional with Him; To desire Him as much as we desire the things of the world and to focus on Him first because only He can truly fill and satisfy our hearts.
Most importantly remember, just as bad as He desires you, You need a relationship with Him.
So I leave you with this verse, it’s where my heart always turns when I become restless and overdue for time with Him. It’s a sweet reminder that at the end of the day He just wants me to fall at His feet no matter my condition.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
XO
Michelle
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