10 Things that Strengthened my Relationship with God

Hey y'all! I know it's been a while but trust me when I tell you the time that I've spent away has not been in vain!

The end of 2020 to the beginning of 2021 has been ROUGH, to say the least, but my God is good! I spent those few months, learning more about God, more about the Bible, more about myself, and healing.

Jesus and my therapist have been putting in WORK!

I wanted to share with you a few things that I've learned while I was away. Hopefully, it's as helpful to you as it is to me.

10 things that helped me strengthen my relationship with God

READ YOUR BIBLE

I know it's really obvious but the best way to get to know God and strengthen your relationship with Him is to learn about Him.

John 1:1

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

PRAY:

Another super obvious one but it's important to note that you get to know God the same way you get to know other people, by having a two-way conversation, not a monologue.

Community:

While I've taken time away from the Jesus+Therapy community, the community of Christians around me has grown immensely. I've purposefully surrounded myself with people who love Him and His word. Change your circle and watch the conversation change as well.

Hebrews 10:24-25

"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

Fellowship with the Holy Spirit

I know this sounds super churchy but hear me out: the Trinity consists of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each Person of the Godhead serves its purpose. The Father as the leader and the head, the Son as the redeemer, and the Holy Spirit as an internal support and friend. The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus to be with us and to fellowship with us. We do that by listening to and feeding the Inner Man by reading the Word. When you see make Biblical connections, or sense conviction, that's the Inner Man/Holy Spirit speaking to you. Listen and spend time with it.

John 14: 16-17

"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you"

Watch what you're feeding yourself: No, I am not referring to food. I'm talking about what you intake through your other senses. What are you watching? What are you listening to? The things you take in ultimately become who you are.

Psalm 119:11

"Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You."

Luke 6:45

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil[a]treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."

Take a beat:

Life is fast-paced. It's a consistent string of things to do, people to see, and goals to reach. All of those things are good, but if we don't take the time to slow down and reflect, we're going to miss the million little miracles God performs (yes, that's a reference to Elevation Worship. I'm hung up on their album Old Church Basement, you should check it out!).

Submission:

I know this can be a very icky word, a lot of people don't like to hear it let alone admit that it's required to have a relationship with God. Admitting and acknowledging that I don't know everything takes a boatload of pressure off of me. God knows better than I do and willingly accepting His authority in my life has changed a lot for me. Instead of trying to do everything on my own, I go to my more than willing, more than capable Father.

Isaiah: 55:8

"'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord."

Obedience:

The Lord WILL speak to you. How you respond, should you chose to respond, could either strengthen your relationship with God or keep it where it is. I don't know about you, but I'm trying to see growth in all areas of my life and that means MOVE or sit still when God tells you to.

1 Samuel 15:22

"So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams"

No condemnation: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." These two are direct quotes from the book of Romans. They were written by the Apostle Paul to the Gentiles, the non-Jewish population, US. God knows that we will sin, we're not perfect, we ALL fall short. He planned for our salvation and redemption before we were born. What happens after the sin is what matters. The goal is to get up. That's all God wants us to do, get up. Don't stay in that sin. Get up, give it to God, ask for forgiveness, and pray for grace so that you don't fall again. Yes there will be guilt that comes along with it and your forgiveness doesn't negate the consequences, but it draws God closer to us. After God has forgiven you, forgive yourself.

Romans 3: 23

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

Romans 8:1

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

Patience:

This will NOT happen overnight. This is not a race. It's a marathon. It's ongoing. Some days will be better than others and that's okay. Give yourself the grace that God gives you. Give yourself time to cultivate a real, meaningful relationship with God. There is no finish line, the goal is to go from glory to glory.

Romans 15:4

"For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."