Jesus has given me a passion for life. I truly do love the life I’ve been given. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get stressed or anxious over this life that I love.
High school is hard. Senior year is hard. It’s difficult to figure out how to balance school, being dual-enrolled in college, relationships, friendships, church commitments, fundraising, a social life, and every other day-to-day thing that comes up. Those who know me well will hear me say “I have no idea what I’m doing” probably too many times to count, whether it be about math (lol but really though) or the rest of my life in general.
Oftentimes, I look at the decisions I have to make, grades I want to keep at A’s, or the money I have to raise for this trip and I get stressed out. My heart becomes anxious.
But the Lord has really been speaking to me about my anxious heart. Thus, I’ve begun to pay more attention to the condition of my soul.
And I’ve realized I become more anxious and worried when I’m not spending consistent time alone with my Savior.
This might seem like common sense but when I’m not connected to Him, I see the results of it in my life. I’m more stressed out, I snap at others more often, my heart is unsettled. It’s the same in other relationships in my life and your life. If you were to just stop spending time and communicating with your significant other, your relationship would be strained. This is why we spend time with those we love, why we share our lives with them.
So why is it sometimes so hard to be still with the Lord? I think oftentimes, it is because we’ve put Him in a box. We believe He’s real and know in our heads that He is always with us, but we don’t let that become heart-knowledge.
We put him in the box of the cross as the end of the story. We see Him as a savior from our sins, but not active in our daily lives. Thus spending quiet, intimate time with Him is not a priority.
I’ve done it. I’ve been guilty of this.
But friends, I just want you to know that the Lord is so much bigger than this. The Creator of the entire universe longs to be with you. The perfect, holy Son of God not only hung nailed to that cross to forgive your sins; He did it so that He could know you intimately.
So that you could walk in fellowship with Him. I think, when we let the reality of this love sink into our souls, being still in His presence seems like less of a chore.
We begin to carve out time with Him because something in us needs it and we seek Him because He becomes our peace.
He longs to be with us. He longs to be with me. I need Him, like I need the air I breathe. And the unsettled feeling I get in my heart affirms this.
The Lord is teaching me to trust in Him, not just for forgiveness and during the big decisions of my life, but to live every day of my life relying on Him alone.
Through this, I crave the time I take to open my Bible and listen to Him. It fills me and stills my heart.
My prayer and challenge for anyone reading this is that you would spend some time a few days this week with the One who longs to be near to you. Let the truth of His love captivate your heart. Turn on some worship music (Bethel Music is my personal go-to!), journal, draw, pray, and open His word. It may not feel very impactful at first but as you make it a habit to be still in this craziness that is life, you will see the fruits of it in your walk with God and your daily life.
Friends, our Jesus loves us. He sees us. He longs to be our strength and our peace. Just breathe, and rest in that today.
