What is it that women need to be successful in this life? Some would say the ability to earn a living, others would vote for inexpensive and excellent childcare, still others would rely on the ever-popular belief that a good man is the answer to all their problems. (Look around, ladies, millions of women are proving that theory wrong every day! No offense to all the amazing guys reading this!)
Each one of those answers depends heavily on someone else to provide. Can we really expect other human beings to fulfill our needs, make us happy and be there for us forever? I think we can all scream a loud “No!” to that.
When we ask our husbands, friends, and family to be “god” in our life, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. The only one sure place to find our affirmation is in the person of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter if you’re married, single, divorced, widowed or whatever. Christ must be the center of our lives.
So how do we deepen a relationship with someone we can’t see or hear? Good question! Here are some ideas:
1. Give up expectations. Stop thinking that there is a list of “shoulds” that all good Christians follow. God isn’t interested in the exact amounts of time you spend with Him or how you perform. He’s interested in your heart. Give it all to Him.
2. Be real! Talk to him like you would your best friend. He already knows your heart, so why try to fake Him out with a lot of big words and flowery phrases? If you don’t know what you need or you’re angry about something or your life is fantastic—tell Him!
3. Watch for beautiful gifts from Him. I once heard a speaker tell the story of finding more than 40 heart-shaped shells on a beach and with each one she felt like her Heavenly Father was telling her over and over again how much He loved her. He wants to do the same for you!
4. Practice! That’s why we call things like prayer, confession, solitude and service the “disciplines” of the faith. Most people are not born with the drive to learn them, but once Christians take the time to do so, new doors of faith are opened in their lives and they find a deeper relationship with the Lord.
5. Clear your head. God is not responsible for the ugliness of this world, nor does He always choose to stop others from expressing their free will and hurting you. But what He does want to do is take what the Enemy meant for evil and use it in your life for good. If you’ve experienced trauma, seek help to get healing. We can’t hope to react to things differently if we’re still living in the wounded places.
We will never live in complete security this side of Heaven, but by putting our focus where it should be, on Christ, and cultivating that relationship, we can at least catch a glimpse of what it will be like!
Want to know more about the disciplines of the Christian faith? Check out Into Thy Word ministries for more!
http://www.intothyword.org/pages.asp?pageid=56859
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