Don't Neglect His Love

Why is it that we can experience a feeling of complete wholeness from God, but then are so quick to trade that in for something earthly?

I recently had a conversation with a friend where we discussed our past mistakes and how easy it was to fall back into bad habits. The more we talked, the more I felt an overwhelming empathy for this friend because she was expressing many of the same feelings and struggles I had gone through a year ago-- apathy, lust, forlornness-- general spiritual weakness. Despite our love for God, we were both very quick to replace Him with other, easily accessible things in our lives. We talked about how often the hardest thing to admit to is a loss of footing on your spiritual walk. It's simple enough to confess a sin and say you're sorry, because to err is human; but, to have to admit to flailing in your faith is much more challenging. Not only are you saying you're weak to your sins, but that you're not completely sure how to overcome them-- that they're beginning to swallow you up and it might just be easier to let them. Especially when God is being quiet. It's not even that He's being silent; sometimes He's practically shouting, but we fail to hear Him over the din of our own self-produced mess. Then we complain that He isn't reaching out to us. It's just that sometimes, my flesh is weak and my spirit isn't that willing.

However, in recent months I've learned that I can't just sit back and expect God to cater to my every whim. Like any other relationship, this one needs to have active efforts from both parties. It takes work. It takes time. It takes effort and love and attention. Neglecting my relationship with God had a direct negative affect on my relationship with God. Go figure. Sorry for neglecting you, Jesus.