“…prepare to meet your God…” (Amos 4:12).
We are in a season of preparation. With Thanksgiving just behind us and Christmas right ahead, our preparations sometimes become hectic, even frantic, as we race to complete all that we believe we must do to enjoy the season.
That’s sad, isn’t it? All the cooking, cleaning, baking, decorating, shopping, wrapping, list-making—it’s exhausting! And as much as we may enjoy the results, the busyness of it all can sap our strength and steal our joy, robbing us of the true meaning of the season.
But there is something even sadder in all this, and that’s the fact that we readily and willingly invest so much time preparing to celebrate these lovely holidays while neglecting to prepare for the most important event of our lives—meeting with God.
This is true of both our regular, daily meetings with God, as well as the one face-to-face meeting we will all experience with our Creator upon our death. Of course, for those of us who have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have not only already had that first meeting by being introduced to God’s only Son, but we have also established an ongoing relationship with Him by inviting His Spirit to live within us. Therefore, there need be no fear of that meeting after death. Yet even those of us who have the joy and privilege of knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that God’s Spirit dwells within our heart can still lose sight of the need to prepare to meet with Him. As a result, we neglect the ongoing cultivation of what should be a vital and growing relationship with God and allow our faith to grow cold and joyless.
Give yourself a present this season, will you? Take time to prepare to meet with God—and then do it. Regardless of how busy your life may be, purposefully interrupt that impossible schedule and rest in His presence, absorb His strength, and revel in His love. Then pass that gift on to someone else who has yet to take the time to prepare to meet God.
It is the most important meeting of our lives—and therefore the most important preparations we ever make. Yes, we want our houses decorated for the season and the packages wrapped for the holidays—but those preparations should always take a back seat to preparing to meet with our God.
Shalom to you all in this wonderful season of preparation!
Kathi Macias is a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother—as well as an “occasional radio host” and an award-winning author of more than thirty books, including her popular international Extreme Devotion fiction series from New Hope Publishers.
http://www.kathimacias.com/
Thanks Kathi, this is what I need!
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