After
living the life of a believer in Christ for a while, there is the tendency to
carry on with life as usual; like we lived when we were controlled by the
devil. Those were the times when we were deceived into thinking we were in
control and living our lives the way we wanted when indeed satan was in charge.
This could happen to anyone especially long time believers; because after a
while, it is easy to fall back to one’s old ways without meaning to especially when
one feels like they are doing all they have always done as believers. We assume
we are still yielded to and drawing strength from God but are really not. We
are instead, again supposedly, ‘doing what we want to do’ living satan
in-charge without the intention to do so. We may still ‘talk the talk’ or seem
to ‘walk the walk’ even without studying the scripture, because we have studied
the bible enough to know a lot but the cord is broken. It might take a while
for people to notice that there is a ‘disconnect’ but it will eventually become
apparent if we don’t do anything about it. To be yielded to Him requires
spending time with Him. To make it look like spending alone with Him is not a must,
is another trick of satan to lure us away from God because He knows the end of
that route. God made us to rely on Him. There is no doubt that He has to remain
actively a part of our lives. He wants to through us, impact the world. How can
we establish His government on earth without Him? Jesus Christ the son of God,
spent several alone times with God though He was God Himself. We have to keep
connecting to keep the relationship and give Him room to operate on earth.
John 15: 4 “Remain in
me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is
severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
We
deceive ourselves when we assume that our relationship with God is intact
though we are not connecting as we should. If we consistently don’t spend that
time alone with Him and away from everyone and everything else, we are slowly
severing our relationship with Him. This is that time when we fellowship with
Him to the exclusion of everyone and thing; where He becomes the central focus
as we fellowship with Him. It is in this period that we actively rub minds with
Him (i.e. speak to Him and listen to hear Him speak also) so that He is able to
influence our thinking making us more like Him. Becoming more like Him is
something that happens in the mind; it is not physical for God is a Spirit: but
the more we think like Him, the more we talk like Him and the more we are ‘Him’
on earth. It is also in this time alone with Him that we commit our plans to
Him so that He can then direct our steps; correcting our error and chastising
us if there is a need to. As they say ‘whoever gets your ear speaks into your
life and is a major influence to you: does God have your ear? When to identify His
voice as we first start to hear it in during our time alone with Him. It just
makes it easier to then identify it in the midst of a lot of voices or noise.
Mathew 6: 6 “But when
you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray toy our
Father in private.”
2 Corinthians 3: 18
“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of
the Lord. And the Lord who is the Spirit-makes us more and more like him as we
changed into His glorious image.”
We
cannot forget that we have an enemy whose work it is to stop us from going
forward in life as believers. He will do any and everything to ensure that we
fail. He knows the source of our strength and is smart enough to know that
anyone cut off from their life supply source will eventually lose strength and
die. It would be silly of us to be deceived into thinking he is not smart. He
is well aware that we cannot survive without our source of life and strength so
he knows that if he succeeds in luring a believer from their source, no matter
how solid they are as believers, they are bound to eventually die. Do not fall
for that bait of his that tells us that what we often refer to as ‘quiet time’
or ‘alone time’ with God, is obsolete. This age old tradition which is
gradually fading away cannot be overemphasized for every believer. We need to
draw close to God to receive strength from Him whose strength is in His
quickened or living Word who is also His Son. One cannot be compelled to make
this time for God; even God will not compel us. It is a decision one makes and we
have to be deliberate about it because there are often several other genuine
things that compete for this time but we will find that it is easier to live if
we make this time. Now more than ever before, we need to draw close to God who
will in turn, draw closer to us. He that goes around seeking whom he will
destroy, will do anything to keep us from drawing close. He gets his way and
completes his assignment when we remain disconnected from God. ‘Quiet or alone
time’ may sound too silly, ordinary and irrelevant in these times; but remember
that God works through simple things to confound the wise. He releases power in
simpilicty.
1 Peter 5: 8 “Stay
alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a
roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
James 4: 7 & 8
“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Come close to God, and God will come close to you.”
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