It is so vital to our walk with Jesus that we actually enjoy being with Him. We have to get to a point where we can honestly say "the joy of the Lord is my strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). To know Jesus intimately is to actually spend time with Him. Too many of us sacrifice our relationship with Jesus in order to do ministry for Him.I struggle with this SO often. As a youth pastor, much of my day is spent focusing on helping teenagers grow in their relationship with Jesus. I plan sermons, pray, organize games, and so much more all with the goal of ministering to students. Those things are awesome, but if they are not the overflow of my time spent with Jesus, I will not be very effective. How can I get someone to be passionate about Jesus when I am not experiencing that passion I keep talking about?
So how do we fix this? How do we get to a point where we enjoy Jesus again?
1. Spend Time with Him
This is sort of a 'duh' statement. But so often we wait around for passion to slap us in the face and enter our hearts. Cultivating a true love for our Savior is much like a marriage; it takes work. There will be days that you have no desire to pray or spend any time with Him; do it anyway! This is not mindless obedience, it is working to stir up in yourself the passion you once had.
2. Find the Right Setting
Some of you could think of nothing more spiritually refreshing than praying for hours on end about everything you can possibly think of. Some of you (like myself) find your best moments with Jesus are spend pouring over His Word, yearning to hear from Him.
For me, to be alone, with my Bible, a good cup of coffee and a journal could not get any better. These are the moments I am able to enjoy being with Him the most. It is so important to find the right setting to be with Him in.
3. Make These Times About you and Him
Don't try to think of who else needs to hear this. Don't spend these precious moments coming up with a creative way to tell your friends about it. Don't tweet it right away, don't post a long Facebook post about how much you're enjoying this time. Why? Because you need to be with Jesus. You don't need to break away from Him so that everyone knows how good your quiet time is going. There will be time to share what God is teaching you with your friends and family later. Be with Him in those moments and don't let anything get in the way of that.
4. Share it With Others
This sounds contradictory, but you should share what God is teaching you with your friends, family and small group. Don't do it during your quiet time, but later, make sure you talk about what God is teaching you. Others can offer even deeper insight and encouragement to you at this time. This helps to reinforce what you're learning and it is an uplifting time for you and them.
5. Enjoy Jesus
Please, please, please do not do as I did and turn God into an intellectual pursuit or a puzzle to be solved. God desires that we desire Him. As John Piper said "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." Be sure that the most important part of your quiet time is not what you learned, but Who you learned it from. Be sure that you draw your "grace in times of need" (Hebrews 4:16) from the God from whom all blessings flow.
Be sure that above all else, you enjoy being with Him. Let His Spirit comfort, encourage, teach and strengthen you for the day ahead. This is not just 30 minutes to check off your to-do list. This time spent with the creator of the Universe, the God who died so you could live; cherish every moment.
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Did you spend more time reading this post than you did with the Father today? He wants to commune with you. He wants to pour grace, mercy and love into you so that you may be fully satisfied in Him. He wants you to enjoy Him. He is not nearly as interested in what your ministry as He is in you. Once you find out how good He is, you won't want anything else, and you'll want the world to know this God that you have found to be altogether lovely and satisfying.
