Thursday, April 9, 2015

3 more signs you haven't spent enough time with God


Because God misses you.
• • • 


1. You don't think you can do anything right.

It can be hard to meet the world's expectations. You might not ever be smart enough or fit enough. You may not have the perfect relationship or the perfect job. You might not have enough followers or enough likes on your pictures. 

Maybe you're supposed to be a lot further along by now. 



The truth is, God knows where you fall short and he loves when you submit those areas of your life to Him. He doesn't want you to deal with the pain of failure on your own.

When you turn to Him, He will remove your desire to be accepted by the world. He does this by showing you just how much you mean to Him. And once you realize that...nothing is really the same.

Who me?

My grace is sufficient for you, my Strength is made perfect in weakness. 
[2 Corinthians 12:9]

2. You aren't hearing from God when you read you Word.

I know what you're thinking. Aren't we talking about times when we don't spend time with God?
I don't get it.



Sure, reading your bible is a great way to spend time with the Lord. But plenty of people read the bible without ever being intimate with Christ. 

Consider the people who read the bible just to pick it apart.

Sometimes reading our Word can be something we do out of habit or maybe it seems a little more practical than "spending time with God." Whatever that is.

What is that anyway?



But when you only read your bible and fail to actually set time apart for God, it can be a million times harder to figure out what God wants to reveal to you. 

It's like trying to read an article on the stock market in the Wall Street Journal.




But when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
[Matthew 6:6]

3. You feel anxious.

You don't have to break out in hives or start sweating to be anxious.


Anxiety can look like:

• fear that something bad will happen
• inability to sit still and relax
• dependency on caffeine or dugs/alcohol
• never feeling truly at peace

If I was asked to describe the presence of God in one word, I'd say peace.

Remember that "never good enough" thing we talked about in #1, well feeling anxious is the direct result of that.

God does not want us to be anxious. Seriously.

Be anxious about nothing, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
[Philippians 4:6]

In other words...


If you've been missing out on good ol' quality time with the Man upstairs, anxiety will creep in and daily activities will become increasingly draining.

"Heyyy, how's school going?"



"Oh. Well...how about work?"




"Your relationship?"




"Your family?"




"Ok. Just to be sure you we didn't lose you to the zombies and I'm not talking to your clone right now- how does bacon taste?"




Oh no...we've lost her.




This is worst than I thought.




Time with God may not immediately change your situation, but it will change your outlook on it.

God loves peace. He is the Lord of Peace. How could you have a date with the Lord of Peace and not leave feeling...peaceful?




It's like going to Hershey Park and never eating chocolate.




Yeah. So what are you waiting for? You have a date you can't miss! 


Now may the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace always in every way. 
The Lord be with you all.
[2 Thessalonians 3:16]

15 comments :

  1. You're seriously hilarious!!! I say amen to all of these.

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  2. I really enjoy your blog, Holly. It makes me reflect a lot. I'll admit I feel I haven't been the best Christian lately. That's why I'm glad I found The Peony Project because I seriously feel like you all have inspired me to live my life better.

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  3. I'm really needing some extra time with Jesus! Thanks for the encouragement.

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  4. Thanks so much Chelsea! I really hope my blog doesn't make you feel like you haven't been the best Christian :( the fact that you feel conviction and submit to God makes you pretty much the best Christian ever. Let me know if you ever want to talk :) yes super thankful for PP ;)

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  5. Thanks for always showing love Anna :) I literally need ALL the time I can get. Thank you for the encouragement sis!

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  6. Your blog doesn't make me feel that way at all! It inspires me :) Happy Friday!

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  7. Yeah, I struggle with anxiety and feeling like I'm doing stuff wrong when I am not doing anything wrong. I'll feel guilty for things that are of and from God; gifts from God. Sometimes because of that, I get mad at God for letting me struggle with that, so I skip dates.

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  8. Hey Kristin! Yeah I totally know what you mean about feeling guilty about gifts from God. What do you mean about skipping dates?

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  9. You are so right, especially with number 2. Thank you for sharing!!

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  10. Yeah #2 can be pretty dry, but God is faithful lol. Thank you so much!

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