As I begin a new year - 2004 - I find myself looking back at my spiritual journey. If I had to graph it over the past few years, it would show some pretty good growth spurts followed by an up and down line. Kind of like a rollercoaster ride at the county fair. When I'm connected to God, I'm growing, experiencing joy no matter what the circumstances, and have a greater sense of purpose and understanding of what my role in God's Kingdom is. However, I don't always seem to be connected.

I've identified a couple of things that, at times, keep me from a deeper, more intimate relationship with Christ.
1. Spiritual exhaustion - doing, doing, and then doing some more. I'm reminded after these phases that God desires all of my heart more than all of my work.
2. Physical exhaustion - too busy doing life and leaving no time at all with God. This leads to a downward spiral. I start raising questions like: Where is God now? Why doesn't He answer my prayers? Why does He seem so distant? This downward spiral and the questions that follow, indirectly question the relevancy of God in my life. Not good.
3. Sin - plain old unconfessed sin. When dealing with the sin issue, a great model for me is David. I can learn so much from the Psalms about dealing with sin. I am convinced that God never leaves me...it's me that leaves Him. In the book of James it says: "If you draw near to God, He will draw near to you." That means He's just waiting there for me. All I need to do is take a step toward Him, and when I do, the floodgates of heaven open and are all mine. I am so thankful for the cleansing blood of Christ.

Forgiven,
Dave
Ps. 40

Favorite Christmas Gift This Year:
Spending 3 days and 2 nights in Chicago with our kids and grandkids.