I was chatting online with someone last night. Throughout the chat, he lost his internet connection a few times. Each time, he worked to reestablish the connection so that we could continue our conversation. In those times that I was waiting for him to reconnect, I started to think about our connection to God.
The issue that was causing the connection problem last night was an old router. I don't know the reasoning for not replacing the old router. Maybe he doesn't realize that the cost isn't terribly high. Maybe he just hasn't made the effort to go to the store to buy one. Maybe he thinks that it's too hard to set up a new router. There will be times that we feel we have lost our connection to God. Just as I was still connected on my end last night and was patiently waiting, God is waiting for us to reconnect with Him. What is stopping us? Is the cost too high? Are we going to have to give up the sin that we have embraced? Is it that we're not willing to make the effort? Is it just too easy to stay home from church? Do we think that it's going to be too hard to reconnect? Are we unwilling to put in the work that it takes to keep the relationship strong? That old router needs to be replaced or updated if he wants to establish a good connection. Likewise, we need to keep our connection to God fresh and new.
Another thing that struck me last night was the fact that he continued to try even though the problem kept occurring. It would have been much easier to just shut off the computer, go to bed and forget about me. He didn't do that. He kept trying. We are establishing a new friendship and wanted that communication and connection. That desire prompted him to not give up. How often though, do we lose our connection with God and just quit? We don't like what God is telling us, we don't like that He is asking for complete obedience despite our comfort, or we think that the problem is on His end when in fact, the problem is on our end? Instead of doing what it takes to reestablish that connection, we walk away from God and into an existence that will never bring us true joy. And just as the occasional connection issue last night interrupted our conversation, doing things that interrupt our connection to God interrupt the conversation with Him, making it harder to hear His voice.
I'm glad that this man continued to try to reestablish his internet connection so that we could communicate. How much more joyful is God when we work to reestablish our relationship with Him? How amazing would our relationships with Him be if we worked as hard to connect with Him as we do connecting to the internet?
The issue that was causing the connection problem last night was an old router. I don't know the reasoning for not replacing the old router. Maybe he doesn't realize that the cost isn't terribly high. Maybe he just hasn't made the effort to go to the store to buy one. Maybe he thinks that it's too hard to set up a new router. There will be times that we feel we have lost our connection to God. Just as I was still connected on my end last night and was patiently waiting, God is waiting for us to reconnect with Him. What is stopping us? Is the cost too high? Are we going to have to give up the sin that we have embraced? Is it that we're not willing to make the effort? Is it just too easy to stay home from church? Do we think that it's going to be too hard to reconnect? Are we unwilling to put in the work that it takes to keep the relationship strong? That old router needs to be replaced or updated if he wants to establish a good connection. Likewise, we need to keep our connection to God fresh and new.
Another thing that struck me last night was the fact that he continued to try even though the problem kept occurring. It would have been much easier to just shut off the computer, go to bed and forget about me. He didn't do that. He kept trying. We are establishing a new friendship and wanted that communication and connection. That desire prompted him to not give up. How often though, do we lose our connection with God and just quit? We don't like what God is telling us, we don't like that He is asking for complete obedience despite our comfort, or we think that the problem is on His end when in fact, the problem is on our end? Instead of doing what it takes to reestablish that connection, we walk away from God and into an existence that will never bring us true joy. And just as the occasional connection issue last night interrupted our conversation, doing things that interrupt our connection to God interrupt the conversation with Him, making it harder to hear His voice.
I'm glad that this man continued to try to reestablish his internet connection so that we could communicate. How much more joyful is God when we work to reestablish our relationship with Him? How amazing would our relationships with Him be if we worked as hard to connect with Him as we do connecting to the internet?
