In our most common relationships with other people, we make all kinds of efforts to keep those friendships, partnerships, and other relationships strong. It is very important that we take a closer look at the things we do, because we should be making even greater efforts to maintain and strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Some of us think of our earthly parents as the ones that keep us safe, strong, and confident, and while they are wonderful, our earthly parents didn’t create us and can’t sustain us. They are a blessing to our lives, but God is everything. He said to His prophet in Jeremiah 1:5(NLT), “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Even before He planted us in our mother’s wombs, God knew everything there is to know about us. He has such a great plan for our individual lives and nurturing our connection with Him helps us to remain on the path to His purpose.
1Thessalonians 5:23(NLT) says, “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.” From the knowledge that God outlines in this verse, we know that we are three-part beings; spirit, soul, and body. All three are to be kept blameless because God has set us apart for His special and glorious purpose. All three are to work in harmony to keep our connection with the Father strong.
Romans 5:10(NIV) tells us, “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” Before the restoration and reconciliation that God accomplished through the sacrifice and resurrection of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, we were not connected to God. We were His enemies. It sounds harsh, but it is true, nonetheless. We walked according to the flesh, doing whatever we wanted to do to bring it pleasure, but when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, this changes. We receive God’s Holy Spirit, and He comes to live inside us.
If we surrender to the Spirit’s leadership and guidance and follow where He leads, our connection to God will grow stronger. We’ll be able to clearly hear His directions and the intimacy we share in our relationship with Heavenly Father will keep us grounded in His love, protection, and care. But we should also note that it’s possible to be saved by the blood of the lamb, and not have a strong connection with God, but a weak one.
When our connection with God isn’t strong, it’s usually because our focus and attention is not primarily on Him, but on other things. It’s can also indicate that we’re not renewing our minds and feeding our hearts with enough of the truth of God’s Word. Jesus Christ demonstrates that the Word is our spiritual bread, and its truth keeps us thriving in Holy Spirit power. After he had fasted in the wilderness for forty days and nights, Matthew 4:3 tells us that the enemy tempted him to turn stones into loaves of bread. Jesus responded in Matthew 4:4(NKJV) by telling him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Again, our Heavenly Father’s Word is life to us. It transforms us from disappointment and defeat to joy and victory in Jesus Christ!
We desperately need the help of the Holy Spirit to live a successful life as a follower and believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re not perfect, but we are being perfected in Christ by the Holy Spirit every day. Some of us have difficult struggles, and others have made a mess of things and can’t figure out which way to turn. God doesn’t punish or turn His back on us. He loves us, and He will bring us out of any situation and cover us in His peace, forgiveness, love, and joy. But we have a part to play in this as well. James 4:8(NKJV) tells us, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” We draw near to Heavenly Father by reading and studying His Word, praying often, and spending quality time with Him. These spiritual disciplines keep our connection with God strong so that we remain continually in the shelter of His love, power, protection, and care. ∎
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“Nurturing Our Closeness with God”, written for victoryinjesuschrist.life. Copyright© 2024. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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