My own personal experience during the last 21 days has been of overwhelming gratitude. Every morning upon waking, I thank God for my home. Every evening as I’m sinking into sleep, I thank God for Oni. And during the time in between, I’m seeing new gifts to be thankful for. It’s like my eyes have been opened to see new realities that I’ve been blind to for a long time.
I am so blessed. And I don’t mean that in the cliché, annoying way it’s overused on wall hangings and greeting cards these days. I mean that I see God’s favor surrounding me almost 24/7. I think His favor has always been on me, I’m just beginning to actually behold it right now. And guys, it feels AMAZING. Surprising. Freeing. Joyful. Peaceful.
The truth is that I have done literally 0.0 things to earn this. I’m not praying for 21 minutes every morning consistently and my Scripture reading has been a bit erratic. I think what’s different is that I’m intentionally ENJOYING God consistently throughout my day. I may not be (aka- I’m not) checking off all the boxes of your typical spiritual disciplines every day, but I am communing with Him by beholding His beauty in the things and people around me, by thanking Him often, and by listening for His voice in the gift of quiet moments.
I share all this for two reasons -
- Sharing and celebrating what God is doing in my life is a pattern of worship. He gets all the glory for this, always!
- I believe someone needs to hear that returning to Jesus as your first love is less about obligation to spiritual disciplines and more about relentlessly pursuing the enjoyment of relationship with Him.
Don’t hear this as a slight on spiritual disciplines. That’s not my intention at all. Setting aside dedicated time for prayer and reading Scripture is imperative for our transformation into Christ’s likeness and we cannot disregard these commands. But let’s NEVER let obligation to a discipline get in the way of our enjoyment of Christ Himself.
When have you really enjoyed being in relationship with God? Remember that today.
What helps you redirect your focus on the evidences of the favor of God in your life? Think about that today.
What fires up your passion for the nearness of God? Do that today.
My prayer for you is that this final day of 21 Days would be just the beginning of a lifetime of “glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.”
