My daughter has been on a "tooth brushing strike" here lately. Just this summer, really. She doesn't want to brush her teeth. She claims she's not certain why she has to do it and how it makes much of a difference. She's constantly making excuses for why she can't. I mean really. How much sense does it make that you shouldn't brush your teeth when you're just going to eat again and get them dirty?
I guess it's a phase that many girls her age go through. Maybe? Hopefully it's not just mine! TELL ME it's not just mine!
The other day we were talking about her next dental check-up. She asked me when it was and I told her it would be coming up this fall. I told her, "You don't want to have the dentist examine those teeth and get after you for having not brushed them, right? Because he will know!" Her response was, "He won't know. I can just brush them REALLY good the night before my appointment!" She then proceeded to "show" me how good she could fool him by grinning that big smile revealing her freshly cleaned teeth from just minutes before our conversation. "See mom! They're white and you'd never know I hadn't brushed them for a few days!"
Indeed... her teeth SMELLED fresh.
Indeed... I could tell that she had worked hard that evening to polish them up and get them to APPEAR healthy and well cared for... but the truth was it was a cover up for what was really happening on the inside of those teeth and gums.
And it got me thinking. Isn't this how we are a lot of the time with our faith and with our walk with God?
I see it countless times. We long for the healthy relationship with Him. We long for closeness and intimacy with the Father. But reality is that it takes some work, on our part, to make that happen.
We want things from God. We pray for things like healing, protection, strength, patience, mercy, balance and peace. But we forget that we have a role in this relationship. We want the benefits from a relationship with the Creator of the universe - but we are quick to forget that there are things God wants to teach us through our trust and obedience.
God longs to give us the desires of our hearts. He does. There's a biblical promise that proves this to us. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." The word delight comes from the Hebrew word, anag, meaning “make yourself moldable and pliable”. He needs for us to make ourselves available to Him so that He can mold us into the person He created us to be. If we aren't able to keep in close relationship with Him and yield to His molding and plying, then He can't use us for the greatness He has called us to! And He certainly won't be able to give us the desires of our hearts.
In close examination of the the second action word in this verse, give, we learn the Hebrew word, nathan, means, "to ascribe or write, add, and apply." You see - God has already provided for us everything we need for this life. Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." If we were created in His image, and we were, then all nine of these characteristics are true about us. We have been given all that we need to survive this battle here on earth and it's God's desire to release these to us, but we have to be willing to come before Him broken, availavle and ready to do the work required to fulfill our end of the bargain.
All too often I hear other Christians say things like, "Where was God when this was happening?" And, "I'm just not hearing from God." I hear things like, "God must have forgotten about me", "My life is a mess", "I can't get on the right track" and, "I can't feel this 'joy' that others talk about." And my response to them is almost always the same, "What are you doing to cultivate your relationship with God?"
You see - it's not a one-way street... this relationship with God. In fact, a relationship is never a one-way street. It's a shared road of responsibility. I have to give something in order to get something. It's just the way it works. Galatians 6:7 says, "Remember that you can't ignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow." Like those teeth that Chloe has been ignoring. If she continues to ignore the health of her teeth, it will only produce a poor check-up at the dentists office this fall. Our spiritual lives are the same way. If we neglect the health of our relationship with God, we will produce a harvest of "decay and death." (Gal 6:8 NLT)
We must get to the place where we are fully and completely dependent on Him. Realizing that apart from Him we can do nothing. We must develop a daily discipline of loving Him apart from what He can do for us. Instead of focusing on Him only when we are at the end of our rope, we need to throw Him the rope and let Him lead us to the greatness He has prepared in advance for us.
Spending time... quality time... with God daily is essential for our well being. It isn't a suggestion or an option.. it is a necessity. Just like tooth brushing daily is necessary for the health of our teeth, spending time with God with praise and gratitude, studying His word and meditating on His promises daily is essential for the health of our spiritual bodies.
In my Daily Devotional book entitled "Jesus Calling", Sarah Young writes about our walk with the Father this way,
"Keep walking with Me along the path I have chosen for you. Your desire to live close to Me is a delight to My heart. I could instantly grant you the spiritual riches you desire, but that is not My way for you. Together we will forge a pathway up the high mountain. The journey is arduous at times, and you are weak. All I require of you is to take the next step, clinging to My hand for strength and direction. Though the path is difficult and the scenery dull at the moment, there are sparkling surprises just around the bend. Stay on the path I have selected for you. It is truly the path of life."
I encourage you to stay with it. Stay in constant communion with God and see what He can and will do FOR you and THROUGH you. Remember - if we DELIGHT (make ourselves moldable and pliable) ourselves in the Lord, He will GIVE (add and apply) us the desires of our hearts.
Psalm 37:23-24, "The steps of the Godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand."
He's ready. Are you?
Finding JOY in the JOurneY,
www.wendybender.blogspot.com
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