A Fellowship Indeed

My husband and I had a much needed time out this past weekend to the chagrin of our children. They could not understand how we could be so ‘selfish’ to go out alone without them, but hey, we really needed to. We had both been working so hard that we had neglected our “we time.” At the restaurant, we chose a quiet table at the far corner of the room and allowed the ambience, soft music, drinks and good food wash away all the cares and weariness of our busy lives. Our conversations were the high point for us. We talked and talked…heart to heart. And we laughed. We shared our future goals and visions…things the Lord had been saying to us individually that will affect and impact on our future. To crown it, still at the table we held hands after the dinner and we prayed committing our plans, family and future into the hands of the Lord. It was a great evening. It was a fellowship. There were no distractions. We were really there for each other physically, emotionally and spiritually. We came away from that evening lighthearted, free and with a deeper commitment to love and support each other even more. And we resolved never to play with our “we time” again.

Isn’t this akin to what fellowship should be with the Lord? A time we set aside to commune with God and pour our hearts out to Him and hear Him speak to us in return. A time of intimacy and deep love when we tell Him how much we love Him and hear Him assure us of His for us. A time when He instructs us about His Kingdom and what He would want us do for His people. But how many of us really have this kind of deep fellowship with the Lord on a daily basis? A number of Christians have become too busy for God now. The cares of life have practically squeezed fellowship out. And even when we do, it is perfunctory- nothing deep, nothing memorable. Most times we do it to assuage our consciences that we’ve been to church or that we’ve had a ‘quiet time’ with Him, but not that there was any profound outcome from it. One lesson I came away with from my date with my husband was that physical presence does not necessarily mean emotional connection. So many couples live together but they have drifted apart. They live together, but they do not share their lives with each other, anymore. It is so easy in marriage to drift apart without the awareness of both couples. The deception here is that you may not be fighting, but you could be drifting. It is important therefore for us to spend quality time away from the children, work, bills, etc to reconnect on a deeper level. This is guaranteed to keep the romantic embers burning in our marriages.

Same way, fellowship with the Lord is not necessarily our physical presence in Church or at our personal devotion closets. It is also not in the number of times we attend church or how frequently we pray, but it is more in the connection of our hearts to the heart of God. We need to be there for real when we say that we are with Him. Our God loves fellowship and He has created us for fellowship. In the Garden of Eden, He was the One that initiated fellowship with man(Gen 3:8-9). That is why Hebrew 11:6 promises to reward those who diligently seek Him. This message is for everyone but especially for those of us who have being born again for a very long time and also those in ministry. If you are not careful to tend to your relationship with the Lord, you will become like an ‘old couple’ with Him and run the risk of becoming ‘too familiar’ with Him. Sometimes, we become too busy like Martha, full of ministry works, but may have drifted in our personal fellowship with Him. It is time to reassess our walk with Him and make amends where necessary.

There may be the need for some of us to actually take a prayer retreat to re-connect with Him. The Psalmist kept his hunger and thirst for the Lord alive. “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1-2, NKJV) It is my prayer that we would be wise to do the same. It is the only way to have a meaningful walk with the Lord. Shalom.

Salvation Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank You for speaking to my heart today. I repent of all my sins and ask for Your forgiveness. I believe that You are the Son of the living God. I believe that You died for my sins and resurrected on the third day. Lord, I give You my life. Come in and be my Lord and Savior. Baptize me with Your Spirit and lead me to a Church that is rich in faith and Your word that I may grow in You daily. Amen