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My quiet time is mostly done during the morning. When I wake up, my time with the Lord is the first thing that is to happen. But there are times when the weather is exceptionally cold or I just want to ignore that phone alarm and sleep in just a little bit longer. God would understand that I need rest right?
I’m sure that if you’re at the level in your walk with God where devotions have become a part of your day (and I do hope that is the level you are at today) you’ve felt the same way. In our hearts we know spending time with God is important, but sometimes our body and will are just not into it. Or maybe you’ve battled with hectic schedules and the first thing to go out the window is your Bible reading and prayer.
What do we do when we don’t feel like connecting to God? The best thing to do is to reflect and probe ourselves as to the real reasons why we miss our devotionals.
Adjust your view of God
Many Christians struggle when it comes to deliberately spending time with God because our view of Him is slightly distorted. Often we fall into the delusion that God is a strict boss that demands that you must put in thirty to sixty minutes with or else. But God is not like that. He is instead a relational God that desires that we connect to Him so that we may partake in His goodness and power.
Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Yes, devotionals are our duty, but it is first and foremost a delight. The Apostle John speaks of God as being our first love and that’s exactly who He is. When we view Him that way, it revolutionises the way we connect with Him.
Come to God no matter what you feel
Another wrong notion we have about connecting to God is that there are conditions we need to meet to come into His presence. We think that when we’re mad, frustrated or tired that God doesn’t want to face our grumpy and desperate selves. But in those times when we are at our worst are actually the best times to come to God.
We don’t come to God’s presence based on our feelings, circumstances or condition, but solely based on the finished work of Christ. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we can freely come into the presence of God. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Through Christ we can freely walk into the presence of God no matter what we feel or no matter what condition we are in.
