by Daysha Albrecht
First, before we begin, I need to remind you - and remind myself - every time we pray or read the Bible or worship that God does not love us more because we do these things. Whether you’ve been reading the Bible every day for the past month or if its your first time speaking to Him, He has loved you with an extravagant all consuming love since the day you were conceived. There is nothing you can do that will make Him love you more, or love you less than He already does.
We need to wrap our minds around the fact that we don’t do these “things” for God’s approval or to make Him like us more. You already have His full attention. Through the finished work of Jesus you are accepted by God (Romans 5:17). When we mess up, do things for the wrong reasons, fail to connect with God each day, view our relationship with Him as transactional verses transformational, His thoughts towards us don’t change. He doesn’t stop pursuing you and wanting to be with you.
Why would God do that, you may wonder?
Because His heart is for the one. It’s hard to comprehend in a world filled with billions of people how God could be concerned about you - one person. Seemingly insignificant, right? But whether you have been aware or not, He has always seen you (Job 34:21-22), He has never left you (Deuteronomy 31:8), He laid down His life for you (John 10:11, John 15:13), and intentionally made you (Psalm 139:13-16, Ephesians 1:4-5).
Now we are invited to know Him, our Creator, our Father, our Saviour, and love Him in return. This isn’t something you do for Him, or that you are forced to do, knowing and loving God is an invitation to do life with God.
God not only likes you, but He wants to spend time with you. We can only imagine how much it breaks His heart, when we go through our days and consume our minutes with scrolling, binge watching, binge eating, running from one task to the next, trying to accomplish the day’s to-do list all the while forgetting to acknowledge the One who fills our lungs with air every time we breathe, keeps our heart beating every minute, allows neurons to fire to fuel our thoughts and creativity.
Reading the Word, talking to God, worshipping Him, fasting, observing Sabbath are rhythms we do to slow down, and enjoy Jesus.
That’s it. Do we enjoy Jesus?
Do you enjoy being in His presence? Or are you too busy doing stuff for Him, checking things off your to-do list that you forget that the person you are actually doing these things for, is actually with you, right beside you, wanting to do life with you. It seems we are just too busy at times to look up and simply meet His gaze.
Rich Villodas a pastor in Brooklyn, New York, said something on a recent podcast that was so compelling and challenging on this topic. He said, “you can tell the level of intimacy someone has based on their ability and willingness to be still in that person’s presence. Our ability to be silent with someone is often a reflection of our familiarity… What does it say about our lives if we are not able to be silent with God? Maybe we are not as familiar with God as we think we are? Or maybe we have relegated prayer and the spiritual life to what I can get out of it.”
So how do we do this? How do we enjoy God?
First, we have to recognize that our relationship with God is not transactional. It’s not “okay God I’ll trust you and obey you if you…” When we keep God on the hook so to say, with our expectations, if our trust in Him is conditional, we will be brutally disappointed. Why? Because the Lord knows that if we got our way, the end result would not be as satisfying and richly rewarding as His plans. Why? Because God cares more about your heart, the most intimate parts of you - what makes you tick, what you deeply long for - that if He allowed you to get your way all the time He would not be a good Father. And in the pain and frustration, that’s what we have to remind ourselves of. That our time with God is not transactional because its an intimate relationship with your Father who actually wants to bring you full satisfaction and deeply rooted joy and peace.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:7
Did you notice what that verse said? It took me a couple time of reading it for it to sink in.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.”
You are favoured and privileged by God when your trust is the Lord. Not when you trust in the Lord for something, but when the Lord is the focus of your trust.
Now don’t get me wrong, it is a lot easier to type these words than to live them out. But be encouraged that you are not alone as you navigate your faith. The Holy Spirit is real and ready to help us in areas we feel weak and defeated.
Secondly, God is unhurried. If you read the Bible you will never come across a moment where God is anxious or running behind. His nature is rest and His presence is peace. Now this almost sounds laughable in our modern society cause it feels like if you step off the hustle train for one second, you are left in a whirlwind of anxiety and striving.
One of these things is not like the other. Meaning, yes God is able to meet us where we are at any given point, however, He cares way too much about us to let us stay on the train that is ultimately headed for destruction. In order to enjoy Jesus we have got to step away from the pressures that scream urgency at us and slow down to Jesus’ pace.
That alone welcomes a sigh of relief. To breathe in a deep breath.
“Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 36:5-6
I challenge you to slow down, even if its for 5 minutes, maybe that’s on your lunch break, or instead of reaching for your phone, or as soon as you wake up, or when you are driving turn off the radio and take a deep breath. And with that breath recognizing that it is God, your Father who put that breath there, who is real and present beside you and waiting for your gaze to meet His.
There is something about slowing down that helps us fix our gaze back on Jesus and recognize that He is so near.
The third encouragement to this non-exhaustive list that I want to share with you, of how we can truly enjoy Jesus more is to not give up! Sounds like something you can slap on a t-shirt right? Our flesh is so quick to finding the exit the moment we feel pain, or discomfort. Following Jesus and making it a priority to be still before Him is not always easy!
But, did you know that God is committed to you? And not only to you, but to all of creation? We see throughout the Bible that God established covenants with His people. Not conditional
contracts, but a promise based on who God is, not what we as people can do for Him. All to bring about His ultimate plan of redemption to a broken hurting world.
I say this because I think that when we recognize who our God is, who He is at His core, we can walk in the confidence and assurance that God will not abandon us. He is faithful, devoted to you, dependable, error-free, unwavering, and authentic; meaning He can’t be anything that He is not. This declaration of truth spurs us on to not give up.
When you want to throw in the towel, when it doesn’t feel worth it anymore, when your inner and exterior world are in turmoil, rest in the truth that God is committed to your redemption. When you want to quit, He never will.
You are made in the image of God, and by the power of the Holy Spirit you are being continually filled with God’s Spirit who is helping you to remain in relationship with Jesus.
We get to share presence with the living God.
Just pause right there. The Psalmists refer to this as selah - pausing in the presence of God.
Unhurried. Non-transactional. Committed to just being in the presence of God.
Enjoying Jesus.
Thanks for taking the time to read these words. They were written with you in mind, but to be honest I’m speaking them right back to my own heart. If we haven’t met, my name is Daysha! I am probably just like you in many respects. Someone who is trying to figure out life, pursue God, and His desires for my life; while cheering others on that same journey. A girl who struggles with insecurities, fears and shame. But who is showing up imperfectly for the glory of God and the good of others. I love exploring new places, sipping on london fogs and having deep conversations around a fire or table.
Follow along the journey @daysha.albrecht