Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Diss(ed)connected?

If this blog is for nothing else, let it be for accountability. You have helped me remain accountable and for that, I'm forever grateful.

But, the one linchpin to that is I need to remain transparent with you. Well, in the interests of that, I need to get something off my chest. I've been very unhappy with God lately. I won't call it 'mad' as I think that's a bit too strong. I haven't turned my back on him, or written him off or anything so dramatic as all that, but I have slowly disconnected from Him.

Many of you may recall I posted a while back about a certain career problem I'm having. Well, since asking for prayers on it, the situation has gone from bad to worse. I kept taking for granted the fact that God would show up and fix it, but as far as I know, He has yet to do so. The problem has become a very significant financial strain on my family and at this point has undone about seven years of my hard work.

I didn't realize it was happening, but over the course of the last month or so, I've slowly been pulling further and further away from God. While doing some introspective thought recently, I came to the realization this was due to my unhappiness that God is allowing this business nightmare to continue.

Now, before you jump to the same conclusions I did about how I need to have faith and how God does things in His time, not ours, rest assured I've been there already. But, to deny the fact that I've disconnected, even when I know it shouldn't have, is hardly being transparent. So, I'm admitting my sin, right here and right now. I unplugged from God.

As things have slowly come to a head over the last few days, and I realized this was happening, I've decided the only acceptable course of action is to reconnect. So, please, help me remain accountable in reconnecting.

For those who like to leave comments here on the Proverbs blog, please do so every few days, asking me if I'm staying connected. If you're the email type, please shoot me an email every once in awhile and check up on me.

No one's faith should ever be so weak that watching evil prevail in the short term can sever their connection with God. Admittedly, that's exactly what's been happening to me.

Thankfully, God always knows how to bring us back. Today, I sat down to get caught up on my daily reading and this devotional was waiting for me:

By Janet Conley
How to Stay Connected

Yesterday we discovered the second key to effective prayer is to stay connected to God. The critical question is: How do we do that?

While there are many things we can do, I want to focus on two things. First of all, if you want to have a close relationship with God, it is important to realize just how much He desires to have a close relationship with you.

This is an amazing truth when you stop to think about it. He is Almighty God, and yet He wants to have a close relationship with you.

Romans 5:11 in the New Living Translation says, Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Through Jesus, God made us to be His friends! So connecting with God starts with remembering He desires to be your closest friend.

Second, you need to practice His presence. Right now God is with you. He is everywhere you go. He is at your job; He is at your home; He is with you wherever you might be, even in the hardest time of your life.

The last part of Hebrews 13:5 says, For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

There was a monk in the seventeenth century named Brother Lawrence who wrote a book called The Practice of the Presence of God. In the monastery there were chimes that rang every hour, and Brother Lawrence would use that as a reminder to connect with God.

If you have a PDA or a wristwatch or a cell phone, you might consider setting it to go off throughout the day to remind you that God is with you. Each time it goes off, spend a few moments communing with Him. Practice His presence. That will help you stay connected to God.

Thanks for walking with me. I appreciate it more than you know and deserve it less than you might think. Pastor Perry Noble of NewSpring Church said in a recent sermon that we're not designed to shoulder our burdens alone and that we should take them to other Christ followers for help. On that note, thank you for helping me shoulder this one.

3 comments:

  1. Mike, this posting is echoing loudly in my own mind and heart today. I too have been going through a rough patch in the last few days with someone I thought was a friend. And most likely still is. Its just that certain things got out of hand and now it seems I'm flooded with only negative thoughts, something I Jesus does not approve of. I am so ashamed at just how weak my own faith is, that in a single heated moment, I can stop being a Christian in truth and become as mean and nasty as the people I'd criticize. God, grant me endurance in these rough moments, remind me clearly that all people are your children and fill my thoughts with only your love so that there is no room for the evil that would lodge there. In Jesus name, Amen.

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  2. It's so crazy to me how we can change in 24 hours - one day we're in love with and on fire for God and the next, we're upset and quickly becoming disconnected.

    I don't think all the illness we've experienced, forcing us to miss physically sitting in church services for the past few weeks, has helped things. It may be only one day a week, but it certainly is there for a purpose and it helps us reconnect. Without it, we're completely on our own and life is full of far too many distractions (by design of the evil one, of course) to keep us from feeding ourselves properly.

    I think we both need to do our best to keep this in the forefront of our minds, as for help, and be intentional about staying as connected as possible.

    I love you for writing this. :-)

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  3. @Ron. Thanks again, old friend. It's not good to know we are where we are, but there is some comfort in knowing we're not alone. And, we're in a place many have gone over the last two thousand years, sadly. But, there's hope, as always, with Jesus.

    @Angie. Couldn't do anything with God and not much at all without you.

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