You paying attention?

I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness in the exuberant earth. Stay with God! Take heart. Don’t quit. I’ll say it again: Stay with God. (Psalm 27:14)

Whenever things are repeated in scripture, it is so we will know God wants us to pay particular attention to the details he is expressing. Just some stats here: 

    35 times we are told to draw near to God

    32 times we are told to be watchful because there might be something we'd miss or be duped by

    25 times we are told not to quit, but to keep pressing forward

If God cares enough to remind us of the importance of drawing near, being ever vigilant in our attentiveness, and not to get tired of pressing on, we had better pay attention!

God's goodness will be seen, even when we don't see any evidence of it right now. There can be all manner of turmoil or chaos around us, but God tells us to take heart - he will reveal his goodness all around us if we are watchful and never stop seeking him. Don't quit - stay with God. How do we develop such 'staying power'? I think it is a gradual thing - we put one foot in front of the other and keep on doing it until we develop some sort of 'stick with it' focus. Faith doesn't have to be complicated - it just needs to be consistent!

Draw near, pay attention, and never quit. These are three very important instructions to us, repeated time and time again. Draw near - get 'tight' with Jesus. Don't be afraid of being near his holiness because his holiness is now your holiness! Don't be concerned he will 'find fault' with you for one thing or another, because even if he points out something that needs a bit of his attention, he gives us the grace and wherewithal to deal with it. Pay attention to him - not just one day a week at church service, but each and every day. He is found in the small things as much as he is in the big ones!

Never quit - stick with it. You may not feel like your faith is developing at the pace you thought it would, but if you are continuing to put one foot in front of the other with Christ at the center of your life, you are moving in the direction that will create a deep and lasting faith within you. Quitters have lost hope, but God even gives us the hope to continue on even in the midst of things that might try to derail us from moving forward. Just sayin!