RESTORING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD!

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. 
(Lamentations 3:40)

MEDITATION:
It happens gradually, doesn’t it?
We might think it has happened suddenly, but when we assess where we 
have been and where we are now, we know that it has evolved over time.
Something is missing in our life and initially, 
we may have a struggle trying to identify the void.

Suddenly we realize that we are having an abundance of difficulties 
and we find it difficult to enjoy times of calmness and relaxation.
We are constantly on edge and the small things in the past have become major, 
and sometimes seemingly overwhelming and insurmountable, issues for us.
Our mind has become a cesspool of negativism, which adds to our misery.

The Lord, whom we felt close to and called on in our times of need,
now seems far away and we wonder if He even hears our desperate prayers.
Our mind is filled with discouraging thoughts 
that our fellowship with Him has been broken.
We know that the Lord is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, so if there 
has been a break in fellowship, it is because we have moved away from Him.

Our modern philosophy of self-reliance and self-sufficiency has caused 
some of His followers to believe they can do okay on their own.
We can have thoughts like, “Depending on the Lord and serving Him is okay for 
some emotional people, but I have learned to believe in myself and my abilities”.

We have replaced reliance on Him with depending on self.
God wants our dependence, and not our independence.
The more independent we become, the less we feel the need to depend on Him.
However, when we experience desperation from an inability to find relief from 
our circumstances, we can be reminded of how He cares for us and can help us.

The Psalmist realized his need for depending on the Lord 
and maintaining his relationship with Him.
My salvation and my honor depend on God; 
he is my mighty rock, my refuge. (Psalm 62:7)

ACTION:
Do you feel that a gap in your relationship with the Lord has been created?
Pause and consider your failures, blunders and mistakes.
Be honest about how your confidence in your own efforts has let you down,
and admit that you need to restore your faith and trust in the Lord.
God is always in the same place and His arms are open wide 
to embrace you and help you in your time of need.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I have been guilty of increasing my self-reliance 
and decreasing my dependence on You. Forgive me for drifting away 
from You and breaking my fellowship with You. You have blessed me 
in many ways and still I have chosen to depend more on myself. I 
realize the error of my ways and the choices I have made on my own, 
and today my desire is to return to You and restore the relationship 
I once had with You. Thank You for remaining consistent even when I 
am not.”

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