Investing Time

There's a difference between knowing God and knowing about God. When you truly know God, you have energy to serve him, boldness to share him, and contentment in him. J.I. Packer

How well do you know God? Have you ever looked at your hardship as a true blessing?  When we decide to get to know God it will take an investment of our time.  We aren’t going to get to know him by just going to church on Sunday and praying every once in a while. 

The best investment in our life is not going to be stock in Google or Starbucks.  Our best investment will be time spent with God.  Too often I think we assume that we know Him because we believe.  The part we miss is that we don’t dwell on his promises and spend time in His Word. 

When we decide to be friends with someone we don’t just get together once in a while and visit for an hour.  If I have a true friend in someone, I will get to know the whole person.  What I mean is we get to know their hurts and heartaches.  We spend enough time with them that when we speak with them on the phone or get together with them we are more concerned about what is going on with them than our own circumstances. These are the people we would do anything for or extend a hand when they need us most, even under the worst circumstances.  Have you also figured out that getting to know someone can get messy and cost us?

The question I asked myself this morning was, “Why don’t I do this with God?”?  He has given me the greatest gift on earth and known to man, “Salvation”, and yet I often don’t spend much time getting to know Him or understand what hurts Him. The benefit of getting to know Him is I will understand what hurts Him, which will lead to action by me doing something about it.

There is a song on the radio about a man who sees children being abused and sold into slavery and he shakes his fist at God and asks Him why doesn’t He do something about it.  The chorus of the song says, “That’s why I made you”.   If we are ever going to understand God we will first need to invest time with Him. When we figure out that what hurts God should also hurt us, that is the beginning of understanding Who He is. 

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You are a better friend to me than I am to You.  I often don’t look past my own circumstances and troubles to see who You really are.  I need to spend more time with You so that I can understand what concerns You.  What concerns You should concern me.  When I begin to understand that I don’t deserve what You’ve done for me, that is the beginning of my friendship with You.  Help me to become more like You.  The best investment I will ever make is time spent with You.   

Scripture: Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:7-10