I recently came across a letter that I’d written to a friend of mine last year. He’d made a comment about being “spiritual” that just sat with me the wrong way. I felt like he just didn’t “get it;” which, I feel may be the case with a lot of people, so I decided to share my letter with you all.

That’s just it. It’s not about being “spiritual.” It’s about having a relationship with someone who cares about you and loves you so much that He sent his only son to die on the cross for you. He’s my best friend and knows everything about me; things that nobody else in the world knows. He forgave me for things that I’ve done in my past, before I could even learn to forgive myself. It took me a long time to get where I am—and I still have a long way to go; it doesn’t come overnight, and I, too, struggle with doubt every once in a while. But there’s so much freedom and joy that comes from being able to give over all your fear, anxiety, frustration, shame, and doubt to someone who loves you unconditionally and has so many promises for us when we turn to Him. Remember, the Israelites were God’s chosen people, but they struggled repeatedly because they kept putting their faith in things other than God. God gave them all these promises if they stayed true to Him, but He also provided a list of curses if they turned from Him. That’s why Israel lost just about everything!

Lately, I’ve been reading the book of Psalms, but I keep coming across the same thing in all the Old Testament. We, as human beings, have a hard time being obedient and submissive. We think that to submit makes us weak. That’s why we have a hard time working under other people and being told what to do as children and teens; the same goes for us, as children of God. When we ask God for help or to provide something for us, and he gives us a “no” response or doesn’t respond quickly enough for us, we don’t want to hear it! We want to do what we want to do, when we want to do it. But if we just submit and accept His “no” answer or wait around for Him to respond, he rewards our faithfulness and gives us even greater responsibilities and gifts.

Now, I’m not saying that we should be obedient to Him just because He’ll provide us with rewards. It has to come from your heart. You know how when you like/love somebody you want to spend as much time with them as you can? That’s how our lives should be. We love the Lord, so we spend as much time with Him, so that we can get to know Him better. And you know how married couples start to look alike over time? The other thing that comes from spending a lot of time with that other person is that we slowly start to look alike. That’s when and how our lives are transformed and we begin to see the world as He does. Then the desire to see His will on Earth and spend even more time with Him, becomes even greater!