God Loves What You Give...Whether A Little, Or A Lot

We often become discouraged because we think we are not doing enough. If there are spare moments in our day, we are certain that we must be missing something that needs to be done, or we need to find another activity to fill that slot of time. We have become so accustomed to the busyness of life, and we forget that nothing we can do could make God love us any more. We can attend church 5 nights a week, be active in our Bible study groups, volunteer at our church, help our children to know the Lord, and speak to others about Christ. But again, doing all of that does NOT make God love us more. He already loves us with a perfect and endless love. When Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross, he took on everything...for all of us. He sealed God's love for us in spite of our sinful nature, and our selfish tendencies.


Now, being involved in groups, volunteering, leading our children, and immersing ourselves as deep in the Word as we can are all WONDERFUL things. But not because they make God love us more. It is because we fall into a deeper and more secure relationship with Our Father. When we learn more about Him, we can understand His truths for us better and apply them to our lives. That is the end goal. For some people, this requires many hours a day or week. For others, it may require only small segments of minutes per day or week. Neither one is wrong. The fact that we consistently work towards a deeper relationship through Christ, and that we continually strive to be better ourselves and to others...those are the things that God appreciates. God does not measure in how much we do or how big our deeds. God measures in purity of heart and genuine intentions.


Becoming spread too thin or overly involved can actually hamper our relationship with Our Savior. When we do this, our actions become simply "doing", as if trying to get across a finish line, or be noticed for multiple achievements. But the truth is, this can actually cause us to not embrace the reason we are doing these things, and we tend to not allow ourselves to be still enough at times to hear God's voice, and to spend necessary quiet time with Him. It is through these times that we grow the closest to Him, and if we miss these times, we miss precious opportunities to feel Him working in our lives. Sometimes saying yes to too many things, causes us to say no to God. Sometimes filling our time constantly with "things" (even though they may all be ministry related and wonderful things), can cause us to take control of our own time, and miss God's actual plan for us.


We need to be able to take time to hear what God wants for our lives, where He wants us placed, and when He wants us to say yes and no. Be sure to start taking this time, if you are not already, so that you can live the abundant life God has called you to. I believe time in study, fellowship, and community involvement are all extremely important. But so is stillness and quiet--take a moment to write time with God in your hectic daily schedule, no matter whether it is 5 minutes, or 5 hours...and be sure to do so in ink, not pencil!

Don't become so busy doing FOR God, that you forget to be WITH God!