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Sustaining our Fire for the Lord!

  • Writer: anna10kenzie
    anna10kenzie
  • Feb 14, 2015
  • 4 min read

Probably one of the most asked questions we Christians struggle with is, “how do you sustain that exciting, intimate relationship with the Lord?”. It's easy to be excited or willing to spend time with the Lord when our circumstances comply. If we are in a good financial place, are around a supportive community, or if we have enough 'free time' on our hands; it's easy to seek out the Lord and do it with the zeal that He deserves. What about the other times though? When the finances are not pouring in, or our friendships seem to be falling through, or we are simply overwhelmed with the amount of work we have on our plate; it may not be as easy to desire that quality time with the Lord, and see the fruit that is possible to come out of it. One fact though about a real relationship with the Lord is that it does not get built through those easy times alone. I'm sure most of us have noticed that the people we consider to be our best and closet friends are the ones that we have been through a lot with, and who have stuck with us through those times. You can always tell the strength of a relationship through the perseverence both people are willing to show to make that realtionship work. It is the same way with the Lord. Since He does not promise us a lifetime full of riches, smiles and victories; we must learn how to keep the fire in our hearts for the Lord burning through those times where it seems like we should be furthest from Him. Here are just three practical ways to keep our relationship with the Lord fruitful and growing, through all circumstances and seasons in our lives. 1. Prayer is IMPORTANT!

We all know that long distances relationships rarely work out. This is because when people are separtate and not in constant communication, it is hard for them to feel like their relationship is real and benefiting either of them. This is the same as our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Though He may seem far and a million miles away at times; our relationship with the Lord is NOT long distance. He is with us 24/7 and just waiting for us to turn to Him and desire Him. Since communication is so important to sustain any relationship, if we trully desire an intimate realtionship with our Creator, we should be in CONSTANT prayer! Prayer is our way to directly talk to God, and He is always listening! In order to keep that fire burning for the Lord we have to be constantly talking to Him. This doesn't have to look a certain way or take a certain amount of time; our God is not legalistic on any level. Just simply going through the day talking to the Lord and asking Him to be made real to us and others will make us feel closer to Him and make the idea of hearing His voice and following Him seem so simple.

2. Community is Key!

Iron sharpens iron” is a phrase well quoted from Scripture, referencing how important Godly relationships are. When we are around other believers being in the Word together, encouraging each other, and rejoicing together it encourages us to continue to seek after the Lord! This is because community encourages people to seek after the things that by themselves, they would have difficulty staying accountable to. Community is the foundation upon which any progress is made. When you have a pair, or group of people all running after the Lord together, it will be hard for anyone to fall away. We should desire and seek out community and discipleship, as it will strengthen our relationship with the Lord and give us many opportunities to live out the fruits of the Spirit that He exudes through us.

3. Be JOYFUL!

Joy, in many occasions, is something so overlooked by believers. When people think about spiritual disciplines usually the first few things that come to mind are prayer, studying scripture, meditation, fasting, etc... But if we are really understanding Scripture and what it means to follow Jesus, we should realize that JOY is one of the most important disciplines! Being joyful gives us opportunities to see the Lord in ways that if we were not joyful, we probably would not have seen Him. We all know the many Bible verses that reference the joy of the Lord being our strength; but what if we actually let that happen! What if we realized that a relationship with the Lord means unending joy, no matter what our circumstance. How would our lives change!? I know that for me personally; before giving everything to the Lord, joy almost felt unattainable. After He showed me that joy, rooted in the revelation of the love of Jesus, is completely free; my whole life and relationship with Him and has changed! When we let the simple joy of the Lord be our strength, we can stop trying to draw close to the Lord by our own power or will and realize that we are ALWAYS with Him and in communion with Him! It's pretty amazing and so simple! Having the joy of the Lord will help sustain our zeal for Him even when times get hard or when we feel distant from Him, because joy doesn't change with circumstance or mood. Joy is a permanent reaction to a simple revelation of the love and freedom we receive from our Lord Jesus Christ.


 
 
 

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