You must worship no other gods, for the LORD whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about His relationship with you. Exodus 34:14 NLT
We often don’t want to think about God being jealous. It brings up the picture an angry spouse being deprived of what they thought was ‘their’ time. A pouty child who feels they are being left out of the group. A fierce frowning God about to let loose. But our God is jealous; He tells us so in His word.
He is jealous about His relationship with you.
We all have relationships. We have a relationship with our spouse and different type with our children. Then there are the relationships we have with parents, which will be different from the ones we have with friends.
However, there is one common aspect in all the relationships you will ever have. Time.
Time is what makes a relationship good or great. When you invest a little time with someone, you will have a good or nice relationship. When you invest more time, the relationship takes on a greater depth.
Think about the relationship you have with your closest friend. How much time might you spend with that person in a week? Do you talk with them person to person? Or are they long distance and you only communicate over the phone? How about through e-mail or snail mail? Are you content with the amount of time you are spending with them?
When you have a really good friend, you want to know what’s happening in their life. You want to hold them in their sorrows and dance with them in their joy. You get excited to share what you have learned with them or ask them a question that you just can’t figure out by yourself. They become a very important part of your life.
Let’s not limit who this friend could be. It could be your spouse, an adult child, someone at work, school or church.
How about God?
He is your friend. Psalm 25:14 tells us, The LORD is a friend to those who fear Him. He teaches them His covenant.
So, how much time do you put into your friendship with God? Once a week at church? When you sit down to a meal and say grace? And, is it all one sided, you talking and never listening?
There is so much waiting for us if we would take our friendship with God as serious as we do our earthly friendship. If we could put as much time into this relationship as we do with our best friend, our lives would be forever changed.
If you don’t have a relationship with God, how do you begin?
First pray, ask Jesus to come into your life as your LORD and Savior. Confess that you are sinner and need His forgiveness and cleansing.
Then start reading the Book of John. Just a chapter each day to get you started. Take notes in a journal on the things you don’t understand or have a question about. Again, ask Jesus for insight and wisdom about His Word. He is excited to share with you.
Try and get into a small group to discuss what you are learning. If your church doesn’t have a small group available to you, ask about starting one yourself. God’s Word is meant to be shared in the study and understanding of it, as you grow.
Chit-chat with Him all day long. He wants to be your constant
companion, so let Him! Tell Him how beautiful the day is, how you’re feeling, what made you laugh, how something brought tears to your eyes.
He loves to be with You in the mornings as you wake. Lunch can always be a time to visit with Him. Dinner is a wonderful time to think on the day and let Him know what has happened. Yes, He already knows what you have done, but He still likes to hear about it.
Try writing Him a love note at least once this week, just to let Him know how much you love Him.
Then in quiet times, pause and listen to what He’s saying. You won’t hear an audible voice, but you will know when He speaks and He speaks volumes though His Word, so take note there also.
Put some time into your relationship with your Father and you will soon become jealous of your time with Him and protect and cherish it!
My Precious LORD,
I realize now how much You want me to spend time with You. It’s time not spent with You, or time seeking my own desires, that makes You jealous. I want so much to please You, so I ask for Your help. I need to see where I can cut back on something so I can spend more time with You. I want to sit at Your feet and learn. I want to walk beside You and practice what You have taught me. I love You Father; You are the delight of my life!
Amen
With The Savior 