By Tanya Jolliffe
Have you ever had one of those days where nothing seemed to go right? A get up late, sit in traffic, burn the dinner kind of day? While we can’t always control how our day goes, we can control how we respond to what comes.
Jesus always supplies a wonderful example of how to handle what life throws at us. This is especially true about how he structured his day. We see an example of this in Luke 21:37-38 (NIV) which reads, “Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.” He started his day living in His purpose and ended his day with the Lord to recharge.
We can spend time with the Lord any time of day or night through prayer, devotional reading, scripture readings, or praise and worship music. When those activities connect our hearts to the heart of God, we are spending time with a friend, strengthening the bond, and developing communication skills. Many days I spend time in the morning connecting with the heart of the Lord by reading a devotion and scripture and praying. What started out as a way to begin my day on the right foot has now become an ongoing conversation and go-to when the day isn’t going right. I find I am drawn to take a break and read some scripture or pray at different times during the day to let Him renew my mind.
Building a relationship with the Lord instead of following a religious mandate or to-do list is the key to connecting and renewing with the Lord any time of the day or night. We are each unique and so is our relationship with the Master. There is no one size fits all approach to building a relationship. No one can really tell us exactly how to do it, they can only share what has worked for them. In order for your personal relationship to bloom and grow, you have to find what works for you. Maybe it is spending time in the morning like I do or in the evening as Jesus did.
Perhaps you have heard the old hymn, Give Me Jesus. It is a spiritual hymn that has been in hymnals since the 1860s with powerful yet simple lyrics of “give me Jesus” at the end of each stanza and refrain. This hymn wasn’t familiar to me until hearing the updated Jeremy Camp version. In this version, he focuses on Jesus at all times. In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus. When I am alone, give me Jesus. When I come to die, give me Jesus. Above all else, Jesus.
When Jesus is our mindset for the day and connecting with his heart is a priority, it doesn’t matter if we have one of those days because above all else, Jesus.
Looking for a way to connect with God daily? CLICK HERE to check out our new daily devotional: Living in Truth Mind, Body, Spirit.
