I Miss God

A funny thing happened on my way to the pulpit- I kind of lost God.

Let me explain: A number of years ago, before I had any thought of being a pastor, my life had crumbled to a crossroads and after much searching, I took the "road less traveled" and went deep into the heart of God. My prayer life and Bible study were amazing. Honestly, God brought me deep into His Word and into Him and I fell head over heels in love. I devoured Scripture, literally wearing out Bibles.

This led down a natural path - Get into the ministry! The timing was all God, and after three years of this heart-to-heart, I was asked to be the pastor of a small church (around 40-50 people). It was considered part-time, but it involved two (different) sermons each Sunday and a Wednesday night Bible Study. I loved (love) it. But that's where the problem arose. I found my personal devotions to be less about US and more about THEM. Every passage became a sermon study, not an encounter with God. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remove the weekly Monster(the sermon) from my devotions. And my heart ached for Him. I missed God

I know I need to be in the ministry, but not at the expense of Him. We were built for a relationship. That must be cultivated above all else, because out of that will flow true worship, justice, humility, forgiveness and love. When Jesus was 12, His parents did the right 'religious' thing and came to Jerusalem. While doing this they lost Him. Be careful - do not lose Jesus in your religious activity, like His parents did.

Helpful hint: To accomplish this, you need to let your time with Him extend beyond the "Acceptable Christian Time Allotment" of 15-20 minutes and press deeper into hours with Him. The walls break down, you get past the superficial, and you encounter Him.