Lost Connection

“Hello? Helllooooo?”  I looked at my phone and realized my cell had dropped my call. How long had I been talking to thin air?  In this day and age of technology you would think dropped calls wouldn’t happen as much, but they do.  And how frustrating is it to be in the middle of an important conversation and lose reception or your connection.  I called, and called, and called again to no avail.  I could not reach my friend.  I continued on throughout my day and was distracted because I really needed to relay the rest of the information.  I mean, after all it was pertinent information that was needed to make a complete assessment of the situation.

                As I sat in my complete frustration the thought crossed my mind, “Is this how God feels when He’s trying to connect with me?”  Sadly, I have been notorious for saying I’m too busy to pray or to read my bible.  I get so consumed by the things going on in my life that I feel like I lose the connection to God.  I take a moment and wonder around aimlessly, and when I finally realize what the problem is, I go in search for the lost connection.  The amazing thing about God is that He is standing right there waiting on me to realize that the connection was lost.

                I was talking to a student a few years back and they told me that they had walked away from God’s way and had finally decided to come back.  The next comment stuck with me. They stated that “ I feel like God is punishing me.”  I was so excited to share an analogy that Pastor Tim Ross had given us months earlier.  I shared “it was explained to me like this:  If you work a job, you are contracted to earn a certain amount at the end of every pay period.  So think of the sin that you commit as a job.  The bible says the wages of sin is death.  Death is not always physical.  So remember it this way:  Any time you sin, your sin will cut you a check that you have to cash.  It does not mean that God is punishing you for what you did, it means that you are getting the return on the sin you committed.” 

                A consequence of walking away from God for any amount of time is that your ability to hear His direction is diminished.  It doesn’t mean that He has walked away from you.  He is usually waiting in the same spot you turned your back waiting on you to realize that the connection has been broken.  Eventually, just as I was with my friend, you will be able to find that connection.  The trick after being reconnected is to maintain that connection.  Be cognizant of the connection and the work needed to maintain it.  In the end it is worth the work you put into maintaining the connection versus cashing unnecessary checks that set you back.  In the end your greatest resource is God and the best thing you can do is stay connected to his voice and plan!