10 daily habits that will help you connect with God: Discipline creates desire

Howdy! I know what you're thinking... Jess, that's not a habit! You're right, it's not a habit directly, but indirectly. Friends, the Lord has been pursuing my heart so intentionally lately and I want to take this opportunity to share a little testimony with you, while driving home the point I've made in blog posts 1-3: discipline creates desire.

So, let's just dive in!

Daily habit #7: Discipline creates desire

Testimony Time!

As I shared in last week's blog, my faith has been tested in these past few weeks in a way I've never experienced. I've spend the majority of my time ignoring the presence of God because I was annoyed with Him. Annoyed with the (little c) church. Annoyed that He requires worship from me. Annoyed that I felt like I don't have time for our relationship. Annoyed that I wasn't growing spiritually as much as I could or should. Out of all of the emotions I could feel toward God, I never could image annoyed being one of them.

Strength is not our own

But, as I was writing last week's blog, God so graciously reminded me of my life verse, Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," (New King James Version). Besides not giving up on pursuing Him, I was puzzled at how this related to my current situation, but here's the thing: just as our joy is not our own, but borrowed from Christ, our strength is not our own either.

Yeah, we know Jess, you said Paul was not talking about physical strength, but relying on Christ's strength to hold you up. Correct, and as I continued to meditate on that, the Holy Spirit revealed to me something deeper about dependent strength: I can pursue God all day, but if I am not allowing God to pursue me, I am not making room for Him to change my heart and strengthen my faith (remember: relationships are a two way street).

This is an excerpt from my prayer journal on October 27. FRIENDS!!! Are you kidding me?! The God of Creation pursues us in love and by sending His only Son, Jesus, to pay the ransom for our sins, we (sinners), have access to follow and share in His glory if only we would empty ourselves and make room for Him to fill us with strength, joy, peace, and discipline.

Our strength is not our own, we are made strong by the pursuit of Christ toward us in love. WHAT?!

Okay, let's move on. As I was considering what our seventh habit would be, I remembered these takeaways from my quiet time with Jesus this morning (my first in weeks and I feel SO refreshed!):

Dwelling Place of God

Since moving to College Station, I have been studying Paul's letter of Colossians (not perfectly) through the "Colossians: Rooted in Him" bible study from Daily Grace Co. (shout out!). Today's focus was on Colossians 1:19-20: "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross," (New Living Translation).

If those verses ALONE don't give you goosebumps all over, wyd?

Anyway, first thing to note: the beginning of verse 19 tells us that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus. And so, (Daily Grace commentary), God the Son (Jesus) took on flesh to come near His people.

What does that mean for you & me? If the fullness of God, who is spirit dwells in the person of God, who is Jesus, and in 1 Corinthian 6:19 tells us that if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are temples of the Holy Spirit of God, doesn't that mean that the fullness of God dwells in us, too? Daily Grace puts it like this: "God Himself would draw near to His people, He would dwell among them, and literally pitch His tent in their midst."

Now, check this out: In verse 19, Paul says "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ." Translation: God took delight in dwelling in Christ so that He could pursue His people in love, so how much more pleased is He to dwell in you and me? Pleased to know us; pleased to grow us!! So, what else does this mean for us? It means that God Himself initiates love and pursues you. He doesn't wait for you to muster up every ounce of strength you have to come to Him, but He comes to your house, He invades your heart. He knows that you are not strong enough to sustain your relationship, that is why He calls you to rely on His strength; that's why He is all-powerful; the sustainer and not you.

Discipline creates desire

So, Jess, what does all of this have to do with discipline? Great question. My prayer over this past week has been, "I pray, in Jesus' name, that You would continue to pursue me in love and stir my affections for you again as I am persistent to meet with you." Friends, come to Jesus even when you are annoyed, frustrated, angry-- be honest with Him and if you run out of fuel, allow the Lord's strength to carry you through your time together. The more you meet with Him and empty yourself, the more you will be filled Discipline creates desire.

Call to Action

So, like I said last week-- don't give up. The God who dwells within You has never and will never give up on you. He pursues you with initiating love... lean in. The more you lean in, the more you will crave His presence.

XOXO,

Jess :)