“When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself. The evil habit of seeking God-and effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the `and' lies our great woe. If we omit the `and', we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing.” AW Tozer "The Pursuit of God"
This past weekend I took a mini retreat to get away from every day life and seek the Lord on some issues in my life. I came expecting God to meet me in a powerful way. I left not feeling like my prayers had been answered. During worship this morning, however, I began to realize just how much God has showed me this weekend.
First was this quote by Tozer. After reading it, I became increasingly convicted by this statement. I had thought I was doing good since I had sold my motorcycle. I had kind of given myself a get of jail free card. But I soon realized just how much of 'and' I was seeking with God. It was things like God and comfort. God and being accepted by my friends. God and a new motorcycle. I realized this weekend, much to my chagrin, that I wasn't satisfied solely with God. My current lifestyle dictates I need God and television, and Internet, and a new bike, and acceptance from peers, etc. I was deeply disturbed by this revelation and just how much I had become friends with the world.
I encourage you to examine yourself in light of the opening statement. I pray that the Holy Spirit would illuminate any 'ands' in your life.
The second thing I was convicted by was this simple statement the Lord gave me: "If you do the things you've always done, you'll get what you've always got." I know this isn't earth shattering, and I'm sure its been said somewhere before, but its a very challenging and convicting statement. Here I was crying out to God for more of him this weekend and instead of the shekinah glory of God filling my room, I was left with a sense of God's nearness and his desire to meet me in my day to day life. The challenge to me was changing what I always do. If I want more of God, I can't continue to do the same things I have been doing and expect God to meet me more.
So where does that leave us? With a bunch of 'ands' and doing what you've always done. Hopefully you are encouraged. Not in your short comings, but in the knowledge of the fact that its God kindness that leads us to repentance. If God didn't want to draw near to us, he wouldn't reveal to us how we can draw closer to him.
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