Is God my strength?

"Indeed, God is my salvation; I will trust Him and not be afraid, for Yah, the Lord , is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.” - Isaiah 12:2

What does it mean that God is my strength?
How does my life reflect that belief?
Are my life actions consistent with my claimed beliefs?

Those were the questions running through my head as I pondered on this verse in my Jesus Time this morning.

"Jesus Time". A new term I learnt during my short term mission experience in Thailand in July last year, but also known as "quiet time", "devotions", etc.; basically time spent connecting with God in His Word and in prayer. 

It is amazing how Christians can run around in their busy lives ignoring God. We claim that we need Jesus, that He is essential in everything we do... yet in actual fact we do everything we can to push him out of the way, or at least to box him into one little corner of our lives.

For most of my Christian life, I have neglected the spiritual discipline of spending time in intimate connection with God regularly. Yes, I may have read my Bible and said my prayers, but if I was honest with myself I would realise that I did not seek that deep a level of connection; and that I did not see that connecting with God was an essential part of my life routine. This is even more amazing considering how much Ministry work I pack into my life; it was like I was trying to do God's work for Him instead of with Him, not wanting to bother Him too much. 

A vine cannot bear much fruit without a healthy connection to the Branch, however, and eventually I paid the price of trying to serve God without connecting with Him enough. I've had many periods of burnout, but this one has been the deepest, longest and most troubling by far.

But "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in faithful love." Through the trials of the last year, He has forced me into a situation where I'm only working part-time. Through a series of events, God convinced me to "quarantine" at least two mornings a week to spend quality time with Him over coffee, reading His Word then praying with Him. The difference here from previous efforts was that this involved larger chunks of time; a deeper level of intimacy; and a greater level of commitment and regularity.

I won't say that this practice has produced the results that I wanted; it has not "cured" me, and it has not meant I could suddenly zip around doing everything I want to. However, through the months, I have grown to appreciate how essential this practice has become in my life. In a gentle, difficult-to-quantify, way, I have come to see God in action in my life. It is similar to how water dripping on a rock softly but persistently can eventually crack it open; you wouldn't expect that to be possible, but it produces such powerful results! Inspiration comes unexpectedly; things just happen with prayer. You come to understand God better; you know when He is at work, and when He wants you to just sit back and enjoy the show He is putting up.

Christian, you need Jesus in your life. And when I say you need Jesus, I don't just mean you need Him as your "ticket to Heaven"; or just some superficial connection to the church community; or some mental acquiescence to His principles and teachings. You need Him IN your life; living, vibrant and active; permeated through every aspect and every moment of your life. Life disconnected from Him is no life at all; and you cannot have that connection with Him without spending precious time with Him in His Word and in prayer. It is more vital than food, water, money or shelter, even if your bodies and the World would tell you otherwise.

So how will you do this? How will you make sure that you stay connected to the Source of Living Water? What sacrifices do you need to make to make sure you do this?

Full-time workers and Parents (especially of young children), I do not have any good answers for you and I do not envy your lack of the precious commodity of time. I am grateful that I work in a job that allows me to work part-time; I do not know if I could ever work full-time again, as I do not know if I would be able to keep up this practice of meeting with God regularly if I worked full-time. But all I know is: it is essential.

Students and children: make the most of your time! You have such a precious gift in the amount of time you have. Develop good habits now, while you still can. Put the effort in to spending time with God regularly; taste and see that the Lord is good, so that your soul will understand how vital the Living Spirit is for life, and so your thirst for Him will force you to run to Him all the time for your daily Bread.

And for those who want to serve God, remember: you cannot serve Him well without being steeped in His Presence.

You will never come to the end of your life, look back and say, "I spent too much time with Jesus".