Invest in a relationship with God

I think the greatest thing that I can hope for each of us to find, is a deep desire and longing for God. 

For it is when this longing fades so to does our search for Him, so too do the depths to which we delve become shallow. Most assuredly, should we find ourselves content in where we are at, this is where the water becomes stagnant and putrid.

Oh Lord, how I am pleased with where you have taken me, for I once was elsewhere and now I am here, and yet here I must not remain. I urge you to seek Him in ways that you have never sought before, do not grow stagnant in your search, believing that what you know must certainly be the pinnacle of truth. Rather, all that I know today, could become but an echoing hallow tomorrow by comparison.

So how do we continue to flow? As I said, through a desperation for him, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.” ‭‭(Psalms‬ ‭42‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

For years I lived my life with a desire to have desperation, but I just wasn’t there, please don’t find yourself in the same place. Take the time each day, in whatever manner to go to the throne room, in worship, in prayer, in study, in relationship; it is by this consistency that desire grows. 

You can see this in a husband and wife, they grow fonder through being together, not by separation, the more that he chases after her the more she feels loved, and as such the more she chases him, so too does his desire grow. James 4:8 declares, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

No, don’t be double minded, thinking we can seek after the things of the flesh and still draw near to Him, but make Him the center of all that you do, and you will find a intimacy that once seemed but a fantasy.

Justin Gardner pastors at River of Life Fellowship, 702 Church St., Sandpoint. The church can be reached at 208-255-7111.