Follow Him

When I started piano lessons I thought they would be easy…I was so very wrong. Let me be real, I have been taking piano lessons for almost TWO years. I’m not horrible, but lets just say learning to play piano is way harder than I anticipated. 

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn't expecting to be Beethoven over night. I just thought after about 6 months I’d basically be a professional. Well, those 6 months passed and now it’s almost been two years and I’ll be the first to tell you I’m no professional. 

There have been many times where I have considered quitting piano. One day I decided to voice this opinion to my teacher and he met me with a real truth bomb. “You get out what you put in. If you're not practicing everyday then you'll never get better.” As the words were coming out of his mouth I was already getting defensive and making excuses. I had heard this same truth in different activities I had done so I knew it was true. It was the fact that what he was saying was uncovering the reality that I didn't practice enough. He was shining a light on my lack of discipline and I was resenting him for it. 

I left that lesson feeling like I had just been yelled at, but in reality that’s all he had said and then we moved on. He never called me a slacker or told me that I sucked. All he did was state a known fact. I hadn't been practicing, therefore I wasn't as good as I wanted to be. I wasn't consistent with playing the piano, therefore when it came time for my lesson I wasn't prepared. And if I’m super real, I had just stopped caring about it. 

How does this relate to Jesus?    

I can read my piano books and read my chord charts. I can even highlight certain words and memorize parts of it.  If I think I know everything about piano yet never play, I’ll never love playing piano. 

In our relationship with Jesus we often think knowledge is more important that intimacy. We go to church and read our bibles and know all the stories yet we never come to know Jesus. We never become a true follower of Him.   

We often go through life only running to Jesus in desperate times and are so deafened by our own emotion and “feelings” that we can’t hear His voice. If we are not pursuing Jesus when life is going well the storms will come and we will turn to Him with our fists in the air, angry at the world.  We will be so caught up with what we need and the problems we have right then that we will think that He doesn't care and that He has stopped listening. 

THIS IS NOT TRUE. 

If you feel like God has abandoned you, thats because you have run away, or like me with piano, you've just stopped caring. You may have done it unintentionally, without thinking about it. That’s how the devil gets us. 

It’s a hard truth to grasp. I know some of you will read this feeling like I did in my piano lesson that day. These words will leave you feeling convicted and that’s ok. That means that the Holy Spirit is tugging on your heart telling you it’s time to turn back to God.

Just like with my piano experience, we have to be open to the harsh reality that our relationship with God might not be where we want it. We sit down to pray but get so lost in our own thoughts and worries that we feel we can’t trust God anymore. We need to be honest with ourselves about where we’re at with God. That’s the first step to mending the relationship. 

I didn't write this to make you feel ashamed about where you're at. The amount of grace God shows us on the daily is ridiculous. Our God is one of patience and love. But He is also jealous for His people. He wants you to go to Him with everything, all the time. We are never too lost. God hasn't left our side, He has been there all along waiting for us to turn back to Him. If you're feeling lost today, I pray you would get on your knees and give your burdens to the One who has never left you.  

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” ~Matthew 16:24-26