Coming Home
Dear Friends,
I have a close relationship with my Mum. She lives just a 15 minute walk from my home making it easy to pop in and see her, we often share lunch and a chat together once a week, and if we don't see each other then we speak regularly on the phone or send each other text messages.
Being the summer season, over the last few weeks either my parents have been away on holiday or I've been away with my family. During those weeks I found I really missed her as we weren't able to connect in the same way. We did manage to send a text or two during that time, but this didn't make up for the lack of real, meaningful conversations. It was so good to come back from our holiday and meet up a day or two later to have a proper sharing time over a cup of tea.
I also found that while I was on holiday I faced a similar situation in my relationship with God.
I know it's not the same for everyone, but I find I tend to thrive and live life best when I have structure and routine. It's within that structure and routine that I have a regular quiet time with God, time when I can really connect with him and have deep, meaningful times of sharing with him.
But when I'm away on holiday structure and routine tend to go out the window, making it much harder for me to have those times of one-to-one connection with God my Father. During the holiday my relationship with him was based more on snatched moments with him, short snippets of time in his word, in prayer and listening to worship CDs as we travelled by car. The connection and close relationship I have with him was just not there in the same way, and I found myself really missing him in a similar way to how I'd been missing my mum. These feelings really made me look forward to going home and returning to him.
Now, I knew he was still with me on holiday, he hadn't removed himself from me, because of his promise to be with me always, as it says in Hebrews 13:5 “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (NIV), but in the circumstances I had become somewhat removed from him, and in doing so our relationship felt more distant.
I could have beaten myself up over this, told myself what a failure I was as a Christian etc, but I don't think that would have been the best response from me. Instead, the time apart revealed to me the close relationship I do desire and need with God and it made me long all the more for coming home, and coming home to him, as it were. I'm so thankful that God is the one who gave me a desire for him in the first place. By his Holy Spirit he gives each one of us the desire to know him for ourselves. I imagined him with his arms open wide (like the father in the parable of the lost son, in Luke 15:11-31) and of him enfolding me in his arms as I ran to him, telling him how I'd missed him and his response of "I've missed you too, my daughter, welcome back, welcome home."
I don't believe God stands over us in judgement, waiting to condemn us the moment we slip up or fail to behave as we think a Christian "should" behave. "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1 (NLT) Rather he stands looking at us with love in his eyes, waiting for us to re-connect with him, to pursue him and an intimate relationship with him. As it says in James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (NKJV)
It's been so good to come home, to come home to God, to spend quality time with him and his word. To once again be able to share with him on a deeper level, to share with him the things on my heart and to just be with him. For me, coming home to God, feels so right, it's just where I need to be, it fills me with a sense of joy, peace, safety and security. The Psalmist in Psalm 119 writes about his close relationship with God and his love for God's word. It's a long psalm but well worth reading. I particularly like the Message paraphrase of Psalm 119:169-176 which I think fits so well with the things I've been sharing in this week's blog. "Let my cry come right into your presence, God; provide me with the insight that comes only from your Word. Give my request your personal attention, rescue me on the terms of your promise. Let praise cascade off my lips; after all, you’ve taught me the truth about life! And let your promises ring from my tongue; every order you’ve given is right. Put your hand out and steady me since I’ve chosen to live by your counsel. I’m homesick, God, for your salvation; I love it when you show yourself! Invigorate my soul so I can praise you well, use your decrees to put iron in my soul. And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me! I’ll recognize the sound of your voice."
To Think About:
Has there been a time in your life when you have felt that you've really been missing God in your life? What has been the reason for this? Was it an unintentional drifting away on your part? Were you replacing your relationship with him with something else? Had you deliberately distanced yourself from him?
Do you sense God saying to you "I've missed you, welcome back, welcome home my child"? If so, what will your response be?
What does "Coming home" to God feel like to you?
Vicki
I have a close relationship with my Mum. She lives just a 15 minute walk from my home making it easy to pop in and see her, we often share lunch and a chat together once a week, and if we don't see each other then we speak regularly on the phone or send each other text messages.
Being the summer season, over the last few weeks either my parents have been away on holiday or I've been away with my family. During those weeks I found I really missed her as we weren't able to connect in the same way. We did manage to send a text or two during that time, but this didn't make up for the lack of real, meaningful conversations. It was so good to come back from our holiday and meet up a day or two later to have a proper sharing time over a cup of tea.
I also found that while I was on holiday I faced a similar situation in my relationship with God.
I know it's not the same for everyone, but I find I tend to thrive and live life best when I have structure and routine. It's within that structure and routine that I have a regular quiet time with God, time when I can really connect with him and have deep, meaningful times of sharing with him.
But when I'm away on holiday structure and routine tend to go out the window, making it much harder for me to have those times of one-to-one connection with God my Father. During the holiday my relationship with him was based more on snatched moments with him, short snippets of time in his word, in prayer and listening to worship CDs as we travelled by car. The connection and close relationship I have with him was just not there in the same way, and I found myself really missing him in a similar way to how I'd been missing my mum. These feelings really made me look forward to going home and returning to him.
Now, I knew he was still with me on holiday, he hadn't removed himself from me, because of his promise to be with me always, as it says in Hebrews 13:5 “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (NIV), but in the circumstances I had become somewhat removed from him, and in doing so our relationship felt more distant.
I could have beaten myself up over this, told myself what a failure I was as a Christian etc, but I don't think that would have been the best response from me. Instead, the time apart revealed to me the close relationship I do desire and need with God and it made me long all the more for coming home, and coming home to him, as it were. I'm so thankful that God is the one who gave me a desire for him in the first place. By his Holy Spirit he gives each one of us the desire to know him for ourselves. I imagined him with his arms open wide (like the father in the parable of the lost son, in Luke 15:11-31) and of him enfolding me in his arms as I ran to him, telling him how I'd missed him and his response of "I've missed you too, my daughter, welcome back, welcome home."
I don't believe God stands over us in judgement, waiting to condemn us the moment we slip up or fail to behave as we think a Christian "should" behave. "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1 (NLT) Rather he stands looking at us with love in his eyes, waiting for us to re-connect with him, to pursue him and an intimate relationship with him. As it says in James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (NKJV)
It's been so good to come home, to come home to God, to spend quality time with him and his word. To once again be able to share with him on a deeper level, to share with him the things on my heart and to just be with him. For me, coming home to God, feels so right, it's just where I need to be, it fills me with a sense of joy, peace, safety and security. The Psalmist in Psalm 119 writes about his close relationship with God and his love for God's word. It's a long psalm but well worth reading. I particularly like the Message paraphrase of Psalm 119:169-176 which I think fits so well with the things I've been sharing in this week's blog. "Let my cry come right into your presence, God; provide me with the insight that comes only from your Word. Give my request your personal attention, rescue me on the terms of your promise. Let praise cascade off my lips; after all, you’ve taught me the truth about life! And let your promises ring from my tongue; every order you’ve given is right. Put your hand out and steady me since I’ve chosen to live by your counsel. I’m homesick, God, for your salvation; I love it when you show yourself! Invigorate my soul so I can praise you well, use your decrees to put iron in my soul. And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me! I’ll recognize the sound of your voice."
To Think About:
Has there been a time in your life when you have felt that you've really been missing God in your life? What has been the reason for this? Was it an unintentional drifting away on your part? Were you replacing your relationship with him with something else? Had you deliberately distanced yourself from him?
Do you sense God saying to you "I've missed you, welcome back, welcome home my child"? If so, what will your response be?
What does "Coming home" to God feel like to you?
Vicki
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