Seek God

Happy (belated) New Year! It is that time of the year to make resolutions to improve things in our lives. I never make any resolutions because I know my personality and how it can be hard to maintain them throughout the year because I give up easily when I don't see a goal within sight or don't have the motivation to carve out time to do things. So, I actually sat down and wrote my resolutions for this year: reading my Bible daily to grow closer to God through His Word, journal daily, blog regularly, and becoming healthier through eating better and exercising. Yes, day 3 and I have already failed at some of them and have pushed them on the back-burner. I had heard on the news that 45% of people make resolutions, but only 25% of people actually follow through with them for the year. Reason: people set goals that are not achievable and too many goals are made. Pretty much me in a nutshell, huh? So last night, I reflected on my resolutions and have decided that my main focus is on growing closer to God through His Word as I read the Bible daily in my devotional book "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. I was thinking, "This would be good for me because surely I can squeeze in a short devotional everyday, even if I don't have time to go in depth with it and study in God's Word." I figured if I focused on God's Word, then any other mini-resolutions I have would fall into place and work themselves out. But, God showed He has a better plan for my resolution than I had set for myself. Last night, I sat down around 11:40 at night to quickly read through my devotional. God has a great sense of humor. I had just finished writing my plans and list of things I needed to do for the following day. The second sentence of the devotional said, "As you spend time with Me, your thoughts tend to jump ahead to today's plans and problems. Bring your mind back to Me for refreshment and renewal." Ironic? I think not. God knew my heart and mind was not 100% devoted to what I was reading, so He started it out telling me to pay attention. Funny thing is, He didn't stop there. He said, "This sacrifice of time pleases Me and strengthens you. Do not skimp on our time together. Resist the clamor of tasks waiting to be done." Talk about putting a foot in my mouth! I feel like Martha in the Bible where Jesus was visiting Martha and Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus's feet listening to His every word. Martha was busy in the kitchen preparing a meal and cleaning the house and was busy doing things than putting Jesus first. Don't we all have a little bit of Martha in us? I will be the first one to say that I procrastinate when it comes to reading my Bible. "I have homework to do." "I need to clean my room." "My friends want to go see a movie now." Etc. It's no wonder I always feel tired and stressed out.  Psalm 105:4 says, "Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always." If only we lived our lives like this verse every single day. Why take a nap when we are tired? Why go for a jog when we need energy? Why rest when our nerves are shot? Seek God. He gives strength great than anything we can find on earth and in our human flesh. Nothing man-made can do what God can. I pray that I stick to my resolution as Mary stuck to Jesus. I don't want to just squeeze in a few minutes with Him because it is my resolution. I want to seek God everyday because He longs to spend time with me.