The other day I woke up and I just wasn’t feeling it. Good, that is. I felt kinda down, about nothing in particular, and I immediately wondered if it was something I had done. Or rather, had not done.
The day before had been a busy one for me, and reflecting back I realized I had not read my Bible as much as usual or spent time specifically on my knees in prayer. I mean, I had talked to God. I’m typically in consistent, off and on conversation with the Lord. But knowing that I felt better when I absorbed myself in the word, I blamed my poor mood on my neglect of quiet time.
As I thought about this, though, pretty quickly I felt the Lord tell me that wasn’t right.
“I’m here,” He said. “I’m always with you, no matter what you do or don’t do.”
Now don’t get me wrong and think that I’m saying time reading the Bible or praying isn’t important. It’s very important! The problem occurs when you think the level of your relationship with Jesus is just dependent on your works. We all know it’s by grace we are saved, but as humans we also like to “do.” We try and dig deeper, seek harder, and if things don’t work out perfectly we assume it’s either something we’re doing, or something we’re not. Yet sometimes you just gotta rest. You have to rest in the fact that God loves you and is always with you.
So seek the Lord, but don’t think that if bad feelings or circumstances occur that it’s because you’re not seeking hard enough. That diminishes the fact that the Holy Spirit already lives inside you when you accept Jesus as your Savior.
Spend quiet time with Jesus as much as you can, but understand that when life distracts you from Him, it doesn’t distract Him from you. Rest in the fact that His hand guides you even when you forget to ask.
So, quiet time and digging in the Word is important! But it’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is trusting God with your life, realizing that His mercy and grace is a gift that doesn’t depend on what you do. Or what you don’t.
Leeanna Lunn says
<3 <3 <3 <3! YES!! This is so good!
Alison says
Thank you for sharing this. I continue to be encouraged by reading your blog. ?
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.