Day 1

Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours. 1 Peter 1 (The Message)

Consecration and Connection

Sometimes as we serve others, we can forget that God cares about us.

We can become so focused on making sure our ministries and churches are running, our congregants are happy and our finances are secure, that we forget one simple fact – God has not forgotten us. It is easy, for all the right reasons, to end up with all the wrong ideas! We start off with wonderful intentions of serving others because we have experienced God’s grace and goodness in our own lives. We want to see other people’s lives transformed because we know that God is in the business of transformation. But the transformation of others should never be at the expense of our own transformation. This forgetfulness is more likely if we become disconnected from God and His presence and purpose for our lives. Consecration keeps us connected.

To be agents of change in the world around us, we must remain connected to God ourselves. The deeper our consecration the deeper our experience of the reality of God’s presence and the truths that God watches over us, loves us and wants to bring hope and transformation to us.

You might feel forgotten by God today but take a moment to remember that you are not. As you dwell intentionally before God, and consecrate yourself to His will and His way, my prayer is that He will remind you that He knows every hair on your head. He knows every person that you will see today. He knows the challenges you face and the struggles you have come through. The work you are doing is the work that He called you to. Remember what enabled you to answer the call of God in the first place, and rest in the promise that God is with you today. Whatever you face, whatever might come your way, God is right there beside you – He always has been.

The power of this reality is deeply embedded in your willingness to be consecrated. I am not suggesting that we are consecrated so that we might be blessed in this way, rather I am saying that a byproduct of ongoing consecration is a deepening sense of connection that God gives us; rather like the byproduct of a healthy heart being more energy. A great danger that we must avoid is that we want connection without consecration, and without intentionality. I am not sure that this is possible. To abide in Jesus, in the words of John 15, is to be deliberately rooted in His word, by His Spirit for His purposes, and to commit to obedience and dependence. As we do this, our lives reflect His vision and values, and we hear His voice more clearly. As we remain connected to Him in consecration our ministries are strengthened, but more importantly, our souls are nourished.

For further thought –

Why not take a few minutes and allow yourself the joy of knowing that God is with you. You could write Him a brief letter, or a thank you note. Ask Him to show you His eyes in the faces of all those you will meet with today. Allow yourself to be changed by each encounter and ask God to give you the grace to stay connected at this deep ‘spirit-to-spirit’ level so that you can continually grow in your awareness of God’s grace.