Have you ever felt guilty for not spending time, or enough time, with the Lord? I have many times. But how often in your life have you felt guilty for not spending enough time with your parents, siblings, best friends, etc.? Probably never. We don’t feel guilty for not spending time with certain people we love. When we miss them, we call them and set a date. The Lord is much the same. The difference is that the enemy makes us feel guilty, which then pushes us even further away from the Lord. We don’t want to go to the Father because we feel shame that we haven’t spent enough time with Him. It’s a cyclical trap in which the enemy loves to keep our minds and emotions bound.

The truth is the Lord does not shame or guilt us. There is no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1). Can you imagine a God who says, “Well, you haven’t spent enough time with me so I don’t care to listen to you right now.” Just writing that sentence was difficult! God doesn’t do that to us.

Next time you begin to feel guilty, stop. Tell Him that you’re missing Him and want a date. Keep it, read some Word, spend some time in His presence. There is no need for guilt or shame in your relationship with Him. He died to free us from those things, so why would He lord guilt and shame over us? He doesn’t. The enemy does. So put the enemy in his place. Remember the Father’s thoughts toward you. They are always, only good (Jeremiah 29:11).

Happy Monday!

Love and hugs,

Cristy