A few weeks ago I went through a lot of...lets just say stuff. My two siblings left for Disney World at the same time that both of my parents decided to leave on a trip of their own. This left the house to me. And at first I was excited, I was going to get a feel for what it would be like to live on my own. But as my first day went by I simply felt lonely. It was a hard day for me to get through and by the end of the night as I was talking to God I started crying. I really missed my family.
After that day the rest of the lonely week went by fairly quickly with a few hiccups here and there. Because I was on my own I was doing things just to keep my mind off of being alone. So I skipped Monday night prayer and went to the movies and then I skipped Wednesday night service to do math homework. I did attend church on Sunday and it was awesome, just what I needed to keep me going.
But after Sunday I still had two days before my brother and sister got back and four days until my parents returned. I felt really empty and alone almost the entire time everyone was gone. And looking back on it now yes some of it had to do with my family being out of the house but the rest was my fault. Because I was lonely and letting the little things bother me I chose to push God away as well, preferring to be alone with myself. I didn't do it consciously but I found my nightly prayers getting shorter and my daily bible reading ending all together. I wasn't worshiping in the car or thinking about God during the day and it was terrible.
Why am I telling you all this? Well its because I've realized after going through all this one very important thing. For some reason I had a preconceived idea that to get back right with, or to get back into God's good graces would require going to church. But Tuesday night when I went to pick up my brother and sister all of that changed. I got in the car and turned on my favorite radio station 89.7 Power fm. Its a Christian rock station and the only thing I listen to. What started playing was not rock but a worship song! I was shocked, but it was one I loved and so instantly I began to sing along and guess what? I felt God's presence! It was like all of a sudden everything that had been bothering me was lifted! And I realized then and there that you don't need to be in a church service to get right with God but you only need to be willing. And God let me get to the point where I knew that I needed Him more than anything. And when I reached out for Him, God reached out towards me. In Psalms 94: 19 David says, "In the multitude of my [anxious] thoughts within me, Your comforts cheer and delight my soul!" Even David had bad days but God was always there to bring him out of it, and David didn't need to be in church to receive that joy or happiness, he simply needed to cry out to God which is what we all should do.
He is never far away from us even when we've decided to try and push Him away the bible says in Acts 17: 27-28 "So that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after Him and find Him, although He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have out being; as eve some of your [own] poets have said, For we are also His offspring." Wow not only is He never far from us, but this verse is telling us that we should seek after Him, and that we truly do need Him to make it day to day.
So here is my question, what are you waiting for? Are you waiting for a Sunday or Wednesday to get back together with God? Or will you just simply stop what you're doing and cry out to Him now? Do you want to spend a week like I did wallowing in self pity or do you want God to pull you up out of that and fill you with joy and happiness now?
Ask God to be with you, to take care of your situations, to comfort you, just take some time out to praise Him, and something amazing will happen. I dare you.
