Greetings All! A couple of days ago, I shared with a dear sister in Christ my recent struggles and “backsliding” with my spiritual disciplines.  We talked about how the darkness, loneliness and isolation which I sometimes feel can become a self-fulfilling prophecy which ultimately draws me further away from God and diminishes our relationship, as well as my relationships with others.  Sound familiar?  She then asked me if I’d read the devotional that (my dear brother had sent out), which I hadn’t but later did.

It was titled “The Devoted Life,” and spoke directly about the spiritual disciplines of the early church fathers. It also referenced Paul’s struggles with the very same things in Romans 7 & 8.  As my sister had said earlier, “you know you’re not alone in this…many of us struggle with these same challenges.”  It never ceases to amaze me that Father God shows up at the perfect time with exactly what I need to hear or see!  In this devotional, the writer stated that the goal for these folks was discipline of the body and devotion of the heart. There was nothing they were unwilling to do in order to be in the presence of the Lord.

Then yesterday morning I was doing my daily reading from John Eldredge (Wild at Heart Ministries), which was from his book “Moving Mountains.”  It was titled “Turn Your Gaze Towards God.”  He shared Psalm 42:3-5 where David writes “Why are You downcast, Oh my Soul?” John shared how David often poured out his soul and put all his feelings on the table, “but he did not allow himself to stay there!” Rather, he urged himself to put his hope in God because the morning WILL COME!” John noted how “The Cry of the Heart” was a beautiful and precious form of prayer, but that we needed to be careful not to let our Emotions and FEELINGS become a whirlpool that sucks us in. Ex: “I feel overcome” is a lot different that “I am overcome.”

Instead, as David did, we should turn our attention away from the debris of our own lives in a much healthier direction…we “Turn Our Gaze Towards God.” Do you see how God was bringing all of this together for me? It’s not about reading a chapter of the Bible every morning, being at church every Sunday morning, or even being a part of a Christian Broadcast ministry (none of which are bad, mind you). It’s about drawing closer to Him by eliminating the things that can get between us, it’s about love, it’s about a growing and healthy relationship.  Thank you Lord…I love you!

Grace and Peace,

Dennis