The First Resort (Part 2)

Yesterday I talked about how we need to make God our first resort when we feel down. When we feel depressed, it's actually a cry for God. Depression and disappointment, etc. are really just God-given feelings to make us cry for God. The person who craves an addiction, like alcohol, is actually craving God, they're just misinterpreting the feeling and giving it the false solution.

The other day I heard a sermon by Aaron about how God subjected this world to a curse. People will always be disappointed when they try to find satisfaction in this world. Nothing you can do or attain will ever give you satisfaction. That feeling of disappointment is supposed to drive you towards God. God wants you to feel frustrated by this world so that you aren't deceived and think that fulfillment can be found in something or someone besides him. If we could find complete joy in something besides him, we wouldn't seek him. This reminds me of a quote by Spurgeon:

"Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in earthly things. They will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights of sin, and, finding them all to be vanity and emptiness, they will become very perplexed and disappointed. But they will continue their fruitless search. Though wearied, they still stagger forward under the influence of spiritual madness, and though there is no result to be reached except that of everlasting disappointment, yet they press forward. They have no forethought for their eternal state; the present hour absorbs them. They turn to another and another of earth's broken cisterns, hoping to find water where not a drop was ever discovered yet."

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Yesterday I also talked about the solution: seeking God first. And that brings me to my next point, cultivating a relationship. Supplication is one thing, just getting by and surviving is one thing, but thriving is another. One of the biggest changes in my life has come about by recognizing a simple truth: we need to communicate with God.

It's not just when we experience pain that we should turn to God; what about the fun moments? Sometimes I see or experience something really cool or exciting and my first instinct is to call a friend of mine who I think would love to hear about it. But why not tell God about it first? What makes you think he doesn't want to hear about it? You might say, "Well, he already knows about it". But he knows all your needs before you ask for anything, and yet you're still supposed to pray. It's not about relaying information, it's about a relationship!! He wants to hear the joy in your heart! You also need to tell him for your own good, so you recognize that communication is indeed occurring, that you're conscious of the relationship, and are cultivating it. Another common phrase is that communication is the key to relationship. But just because we hear it all the time doesn't mean it's not true. If you're not communicating, what do you think your relationship is going to be like?

Too many times (and this was all my life used to consist of) we treat prayer like a lifeless ritual, just something we're supposed to do. I remember hearing this a million times, but never grasping it: "It's a relationship, not a religion!" Yes, Christianity is not a religion- you've entered into a relationship with the one true and living God! Why do you treat it like a list of chores that need to be done? What would you think of a friend who called you up just because he thinks he's supposed to? someone who doesn't actually care about you, they're just talking to you to keep up the appearance of having a relationship with you. Really they want to be somewhere else. How would that make you feel? How would you feel if someone talked to you solely out of obligation, not because they actually liked you? What if someone called you and said, "heyhowyadoini'mgreati'llseeya*click*" Wouldn't that be the weirdest thing you ever heard? And yet we treat God that way! What an insult! You're acting like he's not real or that he's not someone to actually interact with.
(Please please don't misunderstand me and think that I'm de-emphasizing serious reverent prayer when I say we should have fun prayer, fun communication with God. We should have both. I think that should be clear.)

This is what it means to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17, also Ephesians 6:18). We should to be in constant communication with God! He wants to hear about all your pains and problems, even down to your hangnail, but he also wants to hear about all the joys, victories, and pleasures you experience! Constant impromptu prayers also cause you to think about God a lot more and be more aware of his presence in your life. Watch your relationship with God take off as you engage in constant communication!