Jesus welcomed the people, taught them about the Kingdom of God and healed those in need. Luke 9:11

Seeds of the Kingdom

Proper Connection

by Judith Whitehead

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Psalm 42:1-2, NIV

As human beings we are all made for connection with God and with our fellow human beings. God is, by far, the most important person we need to be truly connected with through personal faith and trust in Jesus as Lord and Saviour, ruling and reigning in every part of our lives.

Our families and friends are extremely important too. We need them and they need us, so we can love, support, help and encourage each other. They are truly a blessing from God.

Over this past year many of us have known the deep loss of contact with those we love. Sadly, for some, the loss has resulted in the death of someone loved very much indeed, and my heart goes out to those who are grieving.

For many, meeting family and friends has only been possible, (because of Covid restrictions) through video calls, emails and phone calls or letters with no proper connection. Whilst I am thankful for these means of communication, nothing can compare with seeing them in person.

I have struggled personally with this and I am longing and yearning for the day when I shall be able to see those I love face to face and envelop them in a huge hug. Some days I feel a real sense of heart ache being disconnected from those I would normally have regular connection with.

Even when restrictions were eased for a while in summer 2020, and we were allowed to meet, there was no hugging allowed, creating an invisible barrier, which felt rather strange. ‘Throwing’ a virtual hug just isn`t the same. I`m sure I’m not alone in having these sort of feelings.

However, I feel challenged, and ask myself, “How much do I long to see God and meet with Him? Does that longing exceed the longing I have to meet and connect with the people I am missing so much at the moment? It should do.

Without a proper connection to God we cannot have a personal and meaningful relationship with Him and an invisible barrier will exist between us and Him. If we do not have a proper connection to God through Jesus, the truth is that we shall remain separated from Him in eternity. That is a sobering and scary prospect.

I was thinking earlier today, (some of us are old enough to remember this!) that before the days of automated telephone exchanges, if you wished to make a phone call, you would lift the receiver and the operator (who was a human being, not a computer) would ask what number you would like to call. Upon placing your request, the operator would connect you to the person you wished to talk to. Sometimes this process took a few minutes, if the telephone lines were busy. So, the operator would come back on the line and say, “Trying to connect you”, or “Still trying to connect you”, if the process was taking a little longer than expected.

It’s so marvellous to know there is no waiting to be connected to God. He is available at all times, day or night, and He delights to hear from us. He delights to hear our voice, as we speak to Him in prayer, praise and worship. Covid regulations can never prevent us from connecting or meeting with God.

Now is a good time, (the best time) to connect properly with God. Perhaps it’s for the first time, or perhaps there’s a need to re-connect with Him, if there’s been a drifting away from Him.

Prayer: Father God, I come to You now and confess my sin, past, present and future, knowing that Jesus paid the price for my sin totally and completely when He died on the cross and rose again three days later. I want to remain connected to You for the rest of my days here on earth, till You call me home. As the deer pants for streams of living water, may my heart constantly yearn and long for more of You in my life every day. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Judith Whitehead Judith is married to Dougie and they have one son. Judith loves spending time with her family, including two gorgeous grandchildren and being outdoors walking in the countryside. Judith lives locally to Ellel Grange and is a part of the creativity team at Ellel Grange. Judith has a deep desire to encourage others and to help believers and unbelievers come to a place of knowing God personally and deeply for themselves.

 

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