03 - Connecting w/ God
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
CONNECTING with GOD
Day 03 | CONNECTING THROUGH THANKSGIVING
CONNECTING with GOD
Day 03 | CONNECTING THROUGH THANKSGIVING
CONNECTING THROUGH THANKSGIVING
Philippians 4:6
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (NIV)
The Apostle Paul – the human author of these verses – gives us quite a list of things to DO and to NOT DO, and all appropriate to our focus on CONNECTING with God.
Paul starts plainly with: Don’t worry about anything.
Don’t you find that – at least at times – easier said than done? Yet worry is itself a subtle way of telling God that your own faith is small. (And the one thing that Jesus continually said as criticism of the disciples was: “Oh you of little faith.”)
Then Paul goes on and gives us some specific things TO DO:
(1) Talk (pray) to God about every situation and circumstance.
(2) Add a BIG DOSE (my words) of thanksgiving along with your requests and sharing of things that are going on.
Marriage was designed by God to be illustrative of the relationship between Christ and His Church. (And “Church” means the Christian PEOPLE, not the church BUILDINGS.) In good marriages (and I am blessed to have one), husbands and wives talk a LOT. They may not always agree about every little thing, but they talk it out, talk it through and share their thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams. Anyone who has been married successfully understands that.
So, if this is supposed to happen in marriage, and if marriage itself is to be a little glimpse of what Christ and His Church are to be like, then why don’t we talk with God like we do our marriage partner?
That’s what we SHOULD do – IF – we want a close connection with God, like the one we should want with our spouse.
The THANKSGIVING part is also necessary in a good marriage. For instance, my wife does SO MANY things well – I could take the rest of this devotional and the next several to share. Suffice it to say, that I do complement her often, as she deserves it. By doing that (I think) that I am showing love and appreciation and gratitude and I’m connecting with her. (She’ll probably let me know if that’s true as she edits all of these TruNorths!)
By thanking the Lord for ALL He has done for you, you are doing similarly: you are CONNECTING with Him, showing appreciation and gratitude and love. As in marriage… it’s IMPORTANT.
Prayer for today: Lord, help me to talk to you about EVERYTHING and to be more purposeful about THANKING YOU for ALL you’ve done – and do – for me. Help me to remember some of the BIG things and to not let your previous answers to my prayers fall into that dark pit of my memory. You are amazing Lord and I appreciate You. Amen.
Philippians 4:6
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (NIV)
The Apostle Paul – the human author of these verses – gives us quite a list of things to DO and to NOT DO, and all appropriate to our focus on CONNECTING with God.
Paul starts plainly with: Don’t worry about anything.
Don’t you find that – at least at times – easier said than done? Yet worry is itself a subtle way of telling God that your own faith is small. (And the one thing that Jesus continually said as criticism of the disciples was: “Oh you of little faith.”)
Then Paul goes on and gives us some specific things TO DO:
(1) Talk (pray) to God about every situation and circumstance.
(2) Add a BIG DOSE (my words) of thanksgiving along with your requests and sharing of things that are going on.
Marriage was designed by God to be illustrative of the relationship between Christ and His Church. (And “Church” means the Christian PEOPLE, not the church BUILDINGS.) In good marriages (and I am blessed to have one), husbands and wives talk a LOT. They may not always agree about every little thing, but they talk it out, talk it through and share their thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams. Anyone who has been married successfully understands that.
So, if this is supposed to happen in marriage, and if marriage itself is to be a little glimpse of what Christ and His Church are to be like, then why don’t we talk with God like we do our marriage partner?
That’s what we SHOULD do – IF – we want a close connection with God, like the one we should want with our spouse.
The THANKSGIVING part is also necessary in a good marriage. For instance, my wife does SO MANY things well – I could take the rest of this devotional and the next several to share. Suffice it to say, that I do complement her often, as she deserves it. By doing that (I think) that I am showing love and appreciation and gratitude and I’m connecting with her. (She’ll probably let me know if that’s true as she edits all of these TruNorths!)
By thanking the Lord for ALL He has done for you, you are doing similarly: you are CONNECTING with Him, showing appreciation and gratitude and love. As in marriage… it’s IMPORTANT.
Prayer for today: Lord, help me to talk to you about EVERYTHING and to be more purposeful about THANKING YOU for ALL you’ve done – and do – for me. Help me to remember some of the BIG things and to not let your previous answers to my prayers fall into that dark pit of my memory. You are amazing Lord and I appreciate You. Amen.
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