Busy, lazy, and Netflix.
Though we may all have had plans to dedicate more of our lives to Jesus this summer, I have recently found this not to be the case in my life. Due to the many distractions that summer brings, we need a plan to stay focused and dedicated to Jesus. I have found it is way too easy to blow God off, saying, “I’ll read my Bible in the morning for sure. I’m just too tired tonight.” John 15:4 says, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
So, how do we discipline ourselves to run toward Jesus and to remain in Him, and not these other distractions?
01 ;; Prayer. I can’t stress how important prayer is. When I say prayer, I don’t mean just saying a quick prayer in your head throughout the day (which is not a bad thing at all) nor do I mean on your face in your prayer closet (which we also need to be doing!). Rather, I mean getting away from the things of this world and just hanging out with Jesus. This could be putting all your devices away and turning on worship music and spending time in His presence. Just spending some quiet time with Him is crucial because we always need to be drawing closer to God. As Christians we’re supposed to follow Jesus, but how do we follow someone we don’t know. Prayer enables us to know the heart of God and effectively follow Him.
02 :: Reading the Word. Too many Christians today think going to church on Sunday mornings is enough. Let me ask you this, is only eating food on Sundays enough to get you through the week? The word is like our food source. Going without it, we will starve, spiritually. Mathew 4:4 says, “It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” We’ve got to stay in the word! I’m not saying read all of Genesis in one day (which is probably impossible) but we have to be reading our Bibles daily. Even a few chapters a day is beneficial! It’s us refueling. You can only go so far before running out of gas.
The hard part is sticking with it. So while you’re trying to get a million things done at once, just pray that the Lord put a new fire in you. That you'll be hungrier for Him than ever before. If you make time when you have little of it, I believe whole-heartedly that the Lord will bless your time. Jesus even promised this Himself, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) No matter what season you’re in, be sure to always be seeking God.
Kayla Morris, Student in Impact at IUPUI
