I will confess, I'm not a follower of Twitter, I don't know the first thing about the hashtag revolution, nor am I on the latest social media escapades. I do post frequently on Facebook and love seeing pictures of people and what's going on in their lives, especially family across the country. I recently saw a post on Facebook that depicted this guy sitting with Jesus. The caption read something about following Twitter and Jesus saying 'No, I mean really following me!'
Well, I recently wrote a devotional for the upcoming Women's Retreat but thought it would be worth posting for everyone. So here it is! I hope it helps you wherever you are on your journey of life.
“Yet you Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8
If you are reading the above verse, thank you for being willing to set time aside to meet with God! I want to affirm you have made a great choice, and I also want to help you walk through this activity we tend to call a devotional. Now, to be honest, this word devotional, or devo to some, brings up many reactions. Here are just a few:
1. The feeling of confusion because it is a fancy word that not everyone in the world uses except Christians, or so it seems.
2. The feeling of guilt because it reminds folks of what they tend to be weak in.
3. The feeling of anger because they faithfully have their devotion each day, but it seems like God is not giving any answers.
4. The feeling of comfort because they spent time with God and He, somehow, in His own way, met them where they were and He spent time with them, bringing comfort. Maybe not answers yet, but comfort.
Well, I want to invite you to learn some cool ways to spend time with God. Since God made you, knew your story before time began, knows every chapter of your story, as well as the end of your story. He seems like the One to spend time with in order to learn our next steps on this journey we call life.
There are many ways we can spend time with God, but here are two different ways I would like to introduce to you:
- One way I love spending time with God is very similar to the way I spend time with my best friend. I talk, she listens, and then she talks and I listen. I cannot do ALL the talking; otherwise I am not creating space for her to express herself. How much more important for me to talk to God and create space for Him to talk back to me because He is the Potter and I am His Clay. Now, here is where people get angry because they want Him to operate on their timeline. He doesn't. His timing is perfect, and He wants us to love spending time with Him without an agenda. We must learn that He loves us SO much and WILL speak AND move when it's time. TRUST is a biggie here. Many of us have learned we cannot trust because of getting hurt, but God is different. He will not hurt you at all. He is not even capable of hurting you because He is perfect, sinless, faithful and Holy. Hurt comes out of brokenness and sin, neither of which is a characteristic God has. That's Great News!
- The next way is called The ACTS model: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication.
A. Adoration- Say things out loud to God about how much you adore Him. Characteristics of God like Holy, Beautiful, Perfect - words of Adoration.
C. Confession- Talk to Him about the things you have done wrong. Ask Him to forgive you for those things. This means confessing your sins.
T. Thanksgiving - Say out loud, “Thank You God for (these specific things).” Learn to become a thankful person.
S. Supplication- Now, after all of the above, you ask God for the things you would like help with.
These are just two of the many ways we can spend time with God. I hope these will be helpful tools for you to practice as you move toward building a relationship with your Potter, God.
Lois Robinso