Intentional Faith

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:31

We live in a busy world. I know for me if I’m not working on homework, or at work, I take time to get to the gym, spend time with my fiancé, or maybe on the rare occasion take, take time to relax. In our time, we are bombarded with one task after another. You feel pressured to get good grades at school, make lots of money in your career, and spend time at the gym to get the perfect body. If this is you, you are not alone. The modern world is a fast-paced, get to the top kind of lifestyle, and even as Christians, it’s easy to get roped into losing site of what is really important.

Growing up, I learned over and over again that the best way to build your faith was to be intentional about spending time with God. I went to church and Sunday school on Sunday, then the occasional bible study during the week, but my time for God was limited to that.  I made promise after promise that I would start making intentional time for God, and time after time, I let myself down by letting my busy lifestyle overtake the need for that intimate relationship with God.

It wasn’t until I was a freshman in college, that I truly understood the importance of having intentional faith. During this time, I was in a very tough relationship, hundreds of miles away from home, and felt like things weren’t going to get better. Yet, in that time I learned the value of going through trials. Trials give us a reason to turn back to God and look for answers. And that’s exactly what I did.

I started being intentional about my faith. I started reading my Bible during the week, praying multiple times during the day, and being intentional about reading my devotional. God did amazing things in my life during this time. He didn’t take away the problems I was going through, but he did give me peace about the tough decisions I needed to make during this time. After those decisions were made, I had the assurance that God really knew ME and what was best for me.

Building my intimate relationship with God while going through my hardship gave me a pillar to fall on to find peace and comfort. Since then, I have been able to find peace in the journey because I know the things I go through are all a part of God’s plan.

I hope that everyone can find that intimate relationship with God. To help you do that, I want to explain a few of the steps I took to get there.

1.      Go to Church

I understand that life is busy. You have homework due at midnight, a project for work that your boss expects the next day or friends that you haven’t seen all week. But, think about how you spent your week. I like to think about the time I spend on my phone. I would guess that you spend more total time on your phone in one day than the time you spend with God the whole week. Seeing my average screen time is a reality check for me. If I can spend an average of over 2 hours a day on my phone, I can make the time to spend at least 2 hours with God on Sunday.

2.      Build a Christian Community

One reason I like to stress going to church is because that is where you will find your community, especially in college. These are the people who choose to be intentional about how they spend their time.  It’s a lot easier to build a relationship with God when you are being influenced by people who are also working to build that relationship. That is just one of the many reasons Christian friends are so valuable.

3.      Be Accountable

God wants a relationship with you, but it’s you who has to take the steps to build that relationship. God’s given you the tools, recourses, and people you need to build that relationship. But only you can be accountable for actually using those tools he’s given you. Start small. One thing I always do is pray before I go to bed. Start with that, then add Bible reading to your routine a couple of times a week. Build the habit of making intentional time for God. I promise you, it will be worth it.

In the world we live in today, it is so important to be grounded in faith. Even more importantly, building that relationship with Christ can help you face the stress of today with confidence and peace.