The pressures and demands of life will always lead to spiritual decline if we are not intentional about pursuing and cultivating our relationship with God.

We don’t intend for it to happen, but passiveness can easily creep into our relationship with Jesus. We do ministry, we pray on the run, we read when we get a minute, encourage where we can, and we slip our tithe in the offering. We expect him to do the job of drawing near to us. We somehow begin to offer him yesterday’s lunch and yet we long for a miracle today.

We cannot expect to show Christ to others if we are not engaged in a growing relationship with him ourselves. Above anything else, our primary task as followers of Jesus is to stay in a fresh relationship with our Lord. It is then that we will hear his voice of guidance and His words of wisdom and encouragement to pass on.

Staying fresh in our relationship with God can be as simple as making small decisions during the day, decisions that draw us closer to God and help us to continue to renew our souls!

Take a moment right now and check your own life:

God makes a promise: “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8). What do you need to do today, this week, to actively choose your relationship with Jesus over the many important and busy tasks that call for your attention? He longs to bring that freshness to your soul!

Make a choice to become active in pursuing God. Choose to spend time in his presence, to expose yourself to music that inspires, and to turn off the TV. Invite him into every decision, ask him which fruit of the Spirit he wants to cultivate in your life today, pray in a quiet corner and not just on the run, listen for his voice, read his Word and not just a devotional book.

He will be true to his promise! He will come near and refresh your soul. You will once again have new sacrifices to place in his hands to multiply and to work a miracle today.


Photo Credit: David Schap