Getting Serious

Today I want to challenge you to get serious.

Serious about your quiet time with God this coming week. For all of us, there are so many excuses as to why we can't spend time with God in the Word and in Prayer... so many people, places, and things that consistently pull at us... that make us feel that if we do not attend to them immediately then life will fall apart.

Personally, I find that with motherhood, there is a level of tiredness I experience now that I never ever did before I had children. Not in my university days, not in my college days, and not in my high school days. There is nothing quite like the fatigue that comes with showing up daily for two young energetic children - and yet if I am to be honest: even before I had children, 'tiredness' was a frequent excuse as to why I could be inconsistent in my walk with God.

Excuses will always be there and they are willing to age with you through the years presenting themselves to be bigger than they are. This is why I had to make up my mind that tired or not I must make it to my sit-down time with Abba because excuses wrapped in 'valid reasons' will always attempt to present themself and consequently the valid can cause me to miss out on the vital.

You have to get tired of 'wishing' for a certain type of relationship with God as though it is some distant unattainable treasure reserved for a chosen few. Scripture says: 'Draw near to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded." (James 4:8). It's your move bro/sis. You don't have to wait for 'perfect conditions' - obedience is what is perfect! The goal is to just get there... consistently because your life depends on it.

You must not allow the fact that God longs to spend time with you to become a cliché.

It's not cute to ignore someone who is head over heels in love with you: 'I have loved you with an everlasting love...' (Jeremiah 31:3). Someone you claim to love back. In fact, on Earth in our horizontal relationships, if we were on the receiving end of such, we would call it: silent treatment, ghosting, and all in all terrible treatment.

........

Those occasional bouts of frustration are due to inconsistency with God...

The feeling like whatever you do is never enough...

The heaviness that tries to sit on you...

That inner emptiness despite the hustle and bustle in your world...

The inability to relate with those in your life in the godly way you always envision in your mind...

There is even a level of fatigue that manifests itself physically as a result of our spirits being dry outside of the presence of God...

So I challenge you...

To leave the excuses of old from last week there: in last week. And do something new.

For the word... set an alarm clock that will be your Bible study reminder for you to sit and open your Bible and study it on your own. Daily. Look at your schedule in advance and decide when you will read your Bible. You may be able to do it at the same time every day like I do or the time may change depending on what each day holds but let there be a set time. Not a YouTube sermon. No phone. No distractions. You, God, a notebook, a pen, highlighters if you wish, and a Bible. Devotions are nice but even those are the revelations of those who sat down with their Bibles and hearts open before God. Go to the source. 'Your word is a lamp to guide me and a light for my path.' (Psalm 119:105)

For prayer... set an alarm labeled 'prayer' that will ring every day and will signal that your time to talk to your Heavenly Father has come...and without fail, go and talk with Him. For a long time I enjoyed using the 'I don't have time to spend with God' excuse - until I began to set alarms. I then found that often when they would ring, I'd still carry on watching TV, or on my casual phone call or napping comfortably in my bed. And I had to confront the truth: the issue was not time, it was laziness. The issue was never time, it was: desire. Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God.' (Colossians 4:2).

For fasting... choose 1 day this week when you will be away from food, drink, social media, social phone calls, and entertainment and spend quality time with God. Out of 7 days of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners as well as however many snacks in between - you, your stomach and your spirit CAN give 1 day to God. Don't let the enemy lie to you. You can. For a detailed guide on how to do this, you can purchase my fasting guide here... 'Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?' (Isaiah 58:6)

If you want an extra tip on top of all of the above: spend 30 mins - 1 hour every day speaking in tongues.

Get serious with God.

So much depends on it.

So much..........................

In Love,

-Shammah-