Staying Connected
If many of us are honest, we know that staying connected with God through Bible study, Bible reading and prayer is an on-going challenge in our busy, daily lives.
These things can be even more challenging during stressful seasons.
You start a new Bible reading plan only to realize a few weeks later that you’re 5 days behind in your reading.
Or, that pile of new books is still staring at you with maybe a chapter or two having been read.
You might have gotten off to a great start in a new journaling Bible and now you feel overwhelmed because it’s detailed and time consuming.
Finding a consistent day for a real Sabbath rest or deepening your prayer life or keeping up with a Bible study book, etc.
all of these things can be a struggle, especially with the added stresses of living overseas, working in team, never-ending interruptions, daily challenges and the many other things that play a part in our days as global workers.
The devil can and will keep you distracted and busy so that you will give up or slow down on your Christian life.
We often think that as Christains, we shouldn’t struggle with this;
it should be easier.
To make it more complicated, most people assume, because of our profession, that daily time spent with God would come as a natural part of our spiritual lives.
Yet, we all have experienced seasons where finding the time, resources, energy and perseverance to maintain our daily connection with God can be very difficult.
In those seasons, I love to picture Jesus looking down with love.
I see him lifting off the burden we often place on ourselves.
We are often doing things to be still in his presence.
With that simple picture in your mind,
here are 7 ways to connect with God in stressful or busy seasons:
1} Keep it simple.
So often, especially with social media, we feel like we have to have a lot of things going to stay connected with God each day.
We need a journal, a book, a devotional, a Bible reading plan, a prayer acronym, a podcast, a Facebook Live service and the newest worship session from our church.
That can get overwhelming.
Fast.
When you strip all of that away and simplify, you find what a simple time with Jesus can look like.
Choose one of those things and let it connect you with God in the way you need for that moment, that day.
You do have a personal GOD, one who wants to have special time with you.
Take the pressure off and keep it simple.
The best part about it all is that GOD wants all or as little time with us.
It is easy for us to lose heart, to lose focus, and to get off track in our spiritual lives.
It is not easy to make time to be with our Lord and to open His Word.
It is not easy to take in Biblical teaching.
Satan has a way of deluding us and distracting us, even when we are aware that we are being attacked.
By faith, we must stand firm, resist him, and walk according to the Word and by the Spirit.
One of Satan’s greatest ploys is to make things more complex than they really are.
After all, the gospel is very, very simple such that even a young child can understand it.
Paul reminds the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 11:3, "But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ."
We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) based upon the work of Christ on the cross on our behalf.
We receive Him as Father, and we become His children (John 1:12-13).
We turn from our sin, and we receive His cleansing (1 John 1:9).
It is simple, really.
Satan can make us begin to think that we can do things to earn God’s favor or that we can begin to lose our standing in heaven.
But it is not about us gaining or keeping our salvation. Salvation, sanctification, and our future glorification is a gift and work of God in and through us.
Our job is simply to respond humbly, contritely and according to His Word.
Jesus is the main thing, and life only makes sense when it is centered around Him.
We would do well to keep our focus simple and our ways pure, for the way of life, happiness, and joy forevermore is through relationship with Jesus, nothing more, and nothing less.
It is only in His presence that joy is found that will not disappoint or run out (Psalm 16:11).
It just makes no sense to keep living life as if we are supposed to find some one thing outside of Jesus that is going to make us happy given that the simple and pure answer has already been given to us in Christ.
Why run the treadmill of happiness-seeking when happiness is already available in Jesus?
Family is wonderful, but family is not Jesus.
A successful career can be fulfilling, but it is not soul-filling like Jesus.
A new and improved physique can boost self-esteem, but it is not going to satisfy our hearts’ deepest longings.
There just isn’t something else that can take the place of Jesus.
Satan will try to draw our attention away from this fact both when things are going wrong and when things are going smoothly.
But our call is to remember the simple truth that Jesus is the answer, the reason, the end, the beginning, the sum, and the fullness of all in all (Colossians 1:19).
Here are three "one things" from the Bible that we would do well to remember so that we don’t get distracted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
First, we need to remember the glory and certainty of being a child of God lest Satan steal our joy and bring us doubt as to our salvation.
Like the blind man who physically received his sight, so, we who have received spiritual sight must never forget the change which we have experienced (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The blind man said in John 9:25, "One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
There is one thing we must know, one simple, pure thing, namely, that Jesus made us to see.
Secondly, in order to keep things simple, we ought to remember what one thing we are to do.
Paul says in Philippians 3:13, "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Paul knew that he hadn’t arrived spiritually, but he kept on pressing on to the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus, a call to purity, to devotion, and to the eternal praise and glory of Christ.
He didn’t let his past failures keep him from present faithfulness and future rewards.
One thing he sought to do, and that was to keep on serving Jesus and yielding to the Spirit’s work in his life.
Thirdly, one thing should be our heart’s desire above all other things.
David says in Psalm 27:4, "One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to meditate in His temple."
For David, there was nothing like a relationship with His Creator.
To be intimate with God all the days of his life was the greatest thing he could think of, and this was coming from the king of Israel who had it all.
He knew rightly that only God could fulfill his deepest longing and give his life order and meaning and purpose.
God is the only perfect being, and as such He is the definition of perfect beauty.
He is reason to marvel, to have awe, and to glory.
Only He can supply us with joy that will never expire. Only His pleasures are forever (Psalm 16:11).
In this year and in the days beyond, let us remember each day that God is our all in all and that Christ is our life.
There is no other path to joy and no other way to freedom.
Let us keep it simple, remembering the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
2} Let it be messy.
Right now, in our social media, filtered world, time with God often looks pretty and aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Just like the coffee shop in a picture looks perfect.
The people’s journal matches their pens. Everything written down is nice and neat and correctly done.
The sunset glowing just right over the mountains.
The natural light, the birds singing, the quiet moments of morning all encompass what we feel connecting with God should or could look like.
But what if it means doing your Bible reading plan on your phone while sitting in the doctor’s office for two hours?
What if the kids brought in sand or dirt and got on the couch with dirty feet?
What if you see a messy house and laundry needs done?
What if ants are running along the wall behind your desk?
Can time with God happen then?
Yes.
Thankfully, yes.
The pretty moments with God are precious.
Having a quiet moment with a cup of coffee is wonderful.
But on the stressful, hard, busy days… you can still connect with God in the midst of the mess.
We often find that GOD is in the mist of the mess, waiting to help us.
Let it be messy.
Just remember that Jesus can do miracles in a storm.
3} Keep Scripture all around you.
Write it out with your favorite pen.
Print it, l like to get it as large as I can.
Post it where you stand washing dishes, or in the bathroom where you get ready for the day, or at your desk.
Place it in the silverware drawer.
Make it the lock screen on your phone.
Put it on the fridge or on a note card in your bag.
Have it folded up in your pocket so that you can pull it out and read it or can hand it to someone who GOD shows might need it as well.
When life is stressful, keeping Scripture all around you can help you stand on the promises, remember His Word, encourage your heart and even, if you read it often enough, memorize each verse.
We all have a few favorite verses that we can recall from memory.
Remember that the word of GOD is a powerful weapon against the enemy.
4} Have a prayer for hard days.
When the words don’t come, when tears are all you have, when frustration mounts, it’s in these moments that having a prayer can be so helpful.
It can be the Lord’s Prayer or a selection of verses written that you’ve personalized or a prayer you’ve written yourself.
When you’re overwhelmed and can’t seem to pray, read those prayers.
I can’t be the only one that has been so drained with struggling to fight the enemy that we feel like we can’t pray.
We find comfort in knowing we have Jesus who loves us.
We find that filling our time with the LIVING WORD of GOD will help change the atmosphere and turn our days into joy.
Often times of stress and aggravation it is best to stop and have that “little” talk with Jesus.
It truly does make it right.
We are told to pray without ceasing.
In the good times and the hard.
So it doesn’t have to be a certain time or scheduled event to pray to Jesus.
We know that Jesus is wanting to have that personal prayer time with us.
5} Use simple phrases of encouragement.
Sometimes, all I have is a phrase in my heart or a few words that God is using to speak to me, on repeat, all day long.
Those simple phrases can encourage, help, comfort and strengthen in the most stressful, busy times.
It could be a phrase from a song, a line from a poem, a quick caption on an author’s Instagram or a point in the pastor’s sermon last Sunday.
Don’t discount the small, soft ways that God uses to connect and speak with us.
Many times, GOD will use your words of encouragement that you use, to let you share with others to change their days.
Having “joy, joy, joy down in my heart” is a tune that can lift you up.
We will find that sometimes we are called to encourage others and then it’s someone else time to encourage you.
6} Read the journeys, testimonies and stories of others walking this faith road.
With a reading app on your phone, or a small book, or a link to an article online, you can read the stories and testimonies that can greatly encourage, challenge and help you in stressful times.
Let their stories speak of God’s faithfulness, his power and his love.
Remember that He is faithful and true for them and for you.
Everyone has a testimony.
Sharing your testimony is a way that GOD can use you.
Every testimony will be different but all will show Jesus.
Another way to connect with God that we often forget is to read back through your own prayer journals.
We talked about starting to write things down (as a prayer journal) so that we don’t forget something.
And how later we can go back and see how GOD moved on our prayers.
Read over the notes in your Bible.
If you don’t have them start adding them.
Read those yellow highlighted verses.
We all have them.
Read your own words, your own stories of God’s provision, answers, and blessings in your life.
What a wonderful way to remember what God has done and build your faith for what God can do again in the circumstances and stress of life!
7} Know where and how to fall.
Stressful times, interrupted days, busy seasons and inconvenient circumstances can and will happen regularly.
Life knocks us down and will probably knock us down again.
During one time, I felt guilty for falling again, for feeling weak in the midst of a stressful situation.
Shouldn’t I be stronger, healthier, and better than allowing myself to fall again?
God spoke very clearly in my prayer time that day–that I was doing just fine.
That I was falling in the right place, that my foundation was sure, that His strength is perfect.
He is for me, he will help me and he is such a soft, beautiful place to land.
Every day, if that’s what we need.
When life is stressful, hard and crazy, know where and how to fall.
These are just a few simple, honest, real ways to connect with God.
We can’t always have a picture-perfect hour to spend with Jesus, but if we learn how to incorporate Him into the flow of our days, we learn to sense His presence and see His faithfulness in creative, fresh ways.
We can connect with God in some way, every day.
How do you stay connected with God during stressful times?
What are some simple ways you can meet with Him on busy, interrupted, intense days overseas?
Which of these ways can you put into practice today?
STAYING CONNECTED IN TODAYS HECTIC TIMES
Let me first of all say that missing a church service or two doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re disconnected from Jesus.
We stay connected to Jesus by remaining in his Word (John 15:7), which of course we can do by coming to church.
But we can also remain in his Word at home when we have private and family devotions.
But don’t let that be a regular substitute for gathering here.
Those who faithfully study the Word at home know that God says we need to be in church so that we can be an encouragement to one another.
Making God present in your life is being able to live your life without disconnecting yourself from God.
You shouldn't only remain connected to God when you're in church, reading the Bible, praying, or doing godly things.
Your connection with God should transcend religious activities.
In a fast paced lifestyle it is so easy to let your Christian life slip.
When in fact we need to put our Christian life and activities come first.
We should be living and breathing Jesus not just because the lost world is watching.
But because being a Christian at all times gets us ready to go to Heaven one day.
Staying connected to Jesus is more than necessary but it allows us to close to him.
And being close to the Light of Jesus will drive away all darkness.
