WHY DO I FEEL RESTLESS, DISAPPOINTED, AND DISCONNECTED FROM THE LORD?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home,
the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.
(Luke 2:43)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever been separated from Jesus?
Are you experiencing daily fellowship with your Savior?
Living life without Jesus’ presence leaves us powerless and prone to live in fear.
Jesus said He would never leave or forsake His children.

However, we can walk away from His fellowship by refusing to be with Him.
Jesus is always the same, so if we feel separated from Him,
it means we have walked away from Him.
We have chosen to put something else ahead of Him
and have lost our desire to be close to Him.

How does this happen to those who once embraced God’s free gift of salvation?
Satan is subtle and most of the time this doesn’t happen suddenly,
but it is a gradual transition toward something else that takes us away from Jesus.
And when it happens, we start to experience an unusual restlessness in our lives.

This restlessness can cause us to be dissatisfied with our life
and feel like we are in a rut with a shovel in our hands and continuing to dig.
We concoct all kinds of solutions in our own minds,
but there is nothing that is going to alleviate our restlessness
except returning to a fellowship with the Lord.

And what do most people do in this situation?
As their restlessness continues, they become fault finders and look for
opportunities to blame others for their problems and increased anxieties.
When they do, they damage their own self-esteem.
Why?
Because no person is going to feel good about unfairly blaming others
for problems they have created for themselves.

When others realize we are blaming them, often they will distance themselves
from us, which can cause us to have feelings of loneliness and isolation.
It is easy to see that when Satan takes control,
he can put us into a downward spiral.

This is not just some fantasy concept, but it is real
because he is the foe of the One Who loves and cares about us,
and an adversary wants to sway us toward everything
that is opposite of what his opponent wants for us.
In the case of Satan, he wants to destroy our peace, happiness, self-control, etc.
and replace it with turmoil, restlessness, and impure thoughts.

ACTION:
Has Satan slowly taken control of your habits, actions and ultimately your mind?
Has he convinced you that everything wrong in your life is someone else’s fault?
Have you been in denial that you have walked away from the Lord,
the One Who loves you, cares about you, and wants what is best for you?

Don’t let Satan continue to have victory in your life.
Walk (or rather run) back to the Lord Who wants
to fellowship with you and enrich your life.
It is a choice you have to make; it is a personal commitment from you.
Living a life separated from the Lord may have highs and lows, but
you will miss out on the peace and joy He wants for those who belong to Him.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for this devotional You have created for
me to see. This describes the life I have been living, and I now realize
it is because I have allowed Satan to gain control of my thoughts and
actions. Lord I admit that I have failed to take ownership for my own
failures and for the way I have walked away from You. My desire this
day is, to stop blaming others for my problems, and to return to a close
fellowship with You. Forgive me for my sins and restore in me the joy
of Your salvation. Help me to be on guard for future attacks from the
evil one and to rely on the Holy Spirit to provide the strength I need to
repel the temptations from Satan. I now realize that I am not capable of
walking away from him in my own strength, but I need divine assistance.”

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