Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Connecting With The Lord

My belief is that the Lord is constantly attempting to speak to us and influence our lives. He has established many ways that He accomplishes this:

- Holy Scriptures or the writings of His prophets
- The teachings of His current prophets and local leaders
- The Holy Ghost
- Now, the Church has a youtube channel, several websites, and really uses every technology possible to reach out to us.

Why then, is it so hard to stay in tune and connected to the Lord? Why is it so difficult to constantly feel His influence and peace in our lives? How can we minimize these challenges?

For me, the biggest challenge might just be the pulls of daily life. I have a lot of responsibility at work and at home. My children keep me very busy and I have to help make sure my wife has personal time. My job can be very stressful at times and sometimes commands my attention even though I'm not there. Double that for children and thinking of them, plus wanting to have a social life, be a good friend to my friends, and get to play some sports to try to stay in some kind of shape.

God often doesn't confront. All of us will come face-to-face with Him one day, of this I am certain, but if I become lax in almost all of my worldly responsibilities, there is often an immediate reminder. My boss will remind me of essential assignments if I fall behind; my children will misbehave if I don't spend time with them; it goes on and on.

Instead, He speaks to me through the still, small voice of the Spirit. It truly is a still, small voice, and can therefore be a little too easy to ignore at times.

My solution, or what I attempt to do, is to seek regular time to reflect and pray. I need that contact with my Heavenly Father. I need His guidance throughout my life because I know that He knows what I need better than I do. My goal is to have some quiet time every day to connect with God. When I am consistently successful there are no words to describe what a blessing it is. Its constant reassurance and guidance, combined with peace like a river. When I lapse, which unfortunately is frequent, I simply cannot sustain those feelings. I want to do better at taking time to listen, to meditate, and to sing.

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