How do we get closer to God?

I was reading my “Made to Crave” lesson this morning (I have to do this standing at my bar while I eat breakfast. If my daughter sees me sitting she sees this as an invitation to my lap and no reading is done, lol!) when something the author, Lysa Terkeurst, said hit me HARD. She was recounting an instance when she was speaking at a conference and had begun fielding questions. One lady asked “How do you get closer to God?” Lysa wrote that she ran through in her mind a ton of “good” things that she could respond with, serve others, go to Church, pray, etc., but what she said was that you have to give up something that may be permissible, but not beneficial. This got me really thinking. In her own life, that thing has been sugar, and it began with a desire for a healthier body, but has ended with a quest to be closer to God.

What am I willing to give up? What have I already given up? As mothers, we all give up our time to ourselves for a season. Several years ago I felt led to give up watching and then later even following soap operas. (I am not saying any of us have to give up sugar or soaps to be closer to God, the sacrifice is between you and God and is different for everyone.) It may not be something that is BAD, just something that doesn’t necessarily ADD to your relationship with God. How does this bring you closer to God? Well, every time you want this thing, whatever it is, you pray, you reflect on why you are not doing it, you ask got for the strength to resist… every time you are victorious, you are closer to Him, every time you are not, you use it to draw you closer to Him. This can be a sacrifice of time, time on the computer in the morning, or time to sleep in the morning, or anytime, for time with Him. It could be a sacrifice of Dr. Pepper, or coffee… these things aren’t bad at all, but are they necessarily beneficial? Spend some time in prayer seeking to see if God is asking you to give up anything in order to draw closer to him. I’d love to hear what was revealed. I don’t feel the call to give up anything right now… but who knows when it will come. It was HARD to give up All My Children and One Life to Live!