Are You Investing In Your Relationship With Jesus?

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. – James 4:8

Around this time last year, I had a really fun conversation with my brother Brett as he told me all about his new business that he was starting up at the time. I couldn’t wait to hear all of the details, so I peppered him with questions throughout the phone call. I loved hearing him talk about how passionate he was about this business and his work, and how he was so excited to finally be going out on his own.  

At one point in the conversation, we were talking about how he had just paid a graphic designer to create a logo and a branding package for him. It was a pretty expensive purchase, but Brett said it was an investment he was willing to make because he wanted people to know that he meant business and that he wasn’t taking any shortcuts.

That led to us talking about the importance of investing in things you’re passionate about on the front end, in hopes of seeing your investment pay off down the road. If Brett works hard at the beginning, investing his time, energy, money, and resources wisely and wholeheartedly into this business, there’s a very good chance he will see a return on that investment down the road. But if he takes shortcuts, does the bare minimum, and puts in minimal effort on the front end, then his business will reap the consequences of those decisions as well.

Brett and I both agreed that’s why so many people say they want to start a business but then either never start one or bow out quickly because they don’t want to make the effort and investment upfront to do what it takes to be successful.

As I’m thinking about that conversation now, I can’t help but see how it relates to our relationship with the Lord. So many of us want to have strong relationships with Jesus. We want thriving prayer lives. We want fulfilling quiet times. We want to minister to other people well. And we want to see God bless us and answer our prayers. But many of us don’t want to put in the work and effort that it takes to reap the benefits of a healthy relationship with God.

Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not preaching the prosperity gospel here. I’m not saying if you check all of your Christian boxes that God is for sure going to give you everything you ask for and your life is going to be smooth sailing. That’s not what I’m saying at all. But what I am saying is that if you want to have a strong and healthy relationship with your Heavenly Father, it’s going to take some work and effort on the front end.

You’re going to have to carve out time to actually pray if you want a thriving prayer life, not just pray before your meals or in the five minutes you have between meetings or right before you take your AP biology test begging God to not let you fail. You’re going to have to make an effort to read and study your Bible, not just skim over the verse of the day on your phone and call it a day. You’re going to have to spend quality time with your church family and Christian community if you want to be challenged and encouraged in your faith, not just sneak into church late, sit on the back row, and dip out before the last song is over.

I know this sounds like tough love, maybe a little tougher than I’m used to being on here, but I’m okay with that. Because I’ve had to have wake-up calls myself when it comes to this topic. There have been seasons of my life where I’ve done the bare minimum in my relationship with the Lord. I’ve prayed sporadically. I’ve read my Bible occasionally. And I’ve attended church but not engaged in church. And then when I would get frustrated or discouraged that my relationship with the Lord wasn’t growing, the Lord would, in His grace, convict me and remind me that my relationship with Him is a long-term investment, not a sporadic transaction.

It was when I began to really invest my time and my effort with intentionality that I saw God do a work in me. I saw Him prune me and grow me. I saw my desire for Him increase. I saw my joy and my peace skyrocket. And I experienced a closeness with Him like never before.

That’s what I want for you. And I know that’s what the Lord wants with you. He wants you to put in the time and effort to grow your relationship with Him. He’s always there, ready to talk, ready to listen, ready to help, ready to comfort, and ready to guide you where you need to go. But we can’t expect to experience all that He has in store for us if we aren’t making time to invest in the relationship. 

What kind of investment have you been making in your relationship with the Lord? If you know there is room for improvement, I pray that today would be the day you would start anew and begin putting more effort into your relationship with Jesus. I promise you no matter what your relationship with Him has looked like in recent days, He is always ready to take a step forward and grow closer to you as you draw near to Him.