When I Fail To Meet With Jesus

Before I fall asleep at night, during my morning coffee, on my lunch break, while I’m on a walk. When do you meet with Jesus? 

I think we could all pinpoint a specific time of our day where we try to intentionally spend some time with our Savior. But how often do we really, truly meet with Him? 

My time used to be before bed. I’d shower, grab my bible and my journal, read a few verses and journal a prayer about my day, my requests, my thankfulness, etc. Then it switched to during my breakfast. I found a devotion book that had quick little devotions I could read while eating. I'd jot down some quick notes in my journal and say a prayer before heading out to work. Then, when I had my first daughter, it quickly turned into anytime I could scrounge up when she was napping… if I didn’t fall asleep myself. 

But if I’m being really truthful with you, my meetings with Jesus all too often seem to come few and far between. 

It’s a truth that really strikes me. It makes me feel shameful. My pride is wounded by the fact. 

But as it always is with Jesus, I am all too humbled by His grace and patience with my sinful self. 

When I have put other things before Him, He is always right there waiting when I call. 

When I can’t “find the time” to sit down with His Word, He lovingly nudges me back; maybe it’s with a reminder from a friend or family member, or even simply just the glare my bible seemingly gives me from the tray on my coffee table. 

When I’ve all but forgotten Him for sometimes weeks on end, He’ll drop something wonderful into my life with his never-failing goodness, and I’ll remember that He provides for all my needs. 

I am regularly ashamed by my lack of commitment to Him. 

And all at the same time, I am regularly amazed at His love and commitment to me. 

Maybe Nehemiah isn’t a book of the bible that you find yourself flipping through on a regular basis, but chapter 9 has some wonderful truths and comforts for any of us who might stray from our regular meetings with Jesus. 

You see, the Israelites were exiled to Babylon; they wandered in the desert for many years, they frequently rebelled against God. Just like we often find ourselves caught in a sin, forgetting to take time with our God, they did the same. 

In Nehemiah chapter 9 they call out to God in repentance. These Israelites knew the sins of their ancestors in the desert. These Israelites knew of the great wonders and works that God had done for their people for generations. 

He divided the sea so that they could escape on dry land.
He sent them bread from Heaven. 
He led them with a pillar of fire and cloud. 
He gave them his commands on Mount Sinai. 
He quenched their thirst with water from a rock! 

And what did they do in return? 
They rebelled. 
They built a golden calf. 
They killed the prophets God had sent to them, calling them to repent. 

How I love what Nehemiah writes in verse 19: “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them…” 

Those words are like honey. Nehemiah goes on to tell of all the wonders God continued to do for His people even though they sinned against him and forgot to meet with Him. 

God delivered the Canaanites into their hands,
He made their children as numerous as the stars in the sky.
Their sandals did not wear out.
They were granted fertile lands... the list goes on.

This pattern keeps repeating itself throughout Nehemiah chapter 9. The Israelites rebel, bad things happen, they come crying back to God and He delivers them… every single time. 

Verse 28, “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion, you delivered them time after time.”

In our sin, so often we fail to meet with Jesus. We put other things before Him; we take His presence in our lives casually; we don’t give Him the credit for all the good things in our lives. 

But God - Oh, I am so thankful for that phrase - But God, in His great compassion does not abandon us; He delivers us… time after time! 

Thankfully, God is always there to meet with us. It can be in the middle of your hectic day at work, when your kids are driving you crazy, while you stand in line at the grocery store, in between sips of coffee, at 3am on a Friday night and you can’t sleep… He is there. He is longing to meet with you, His dearly loved child.

No matter our wrongdoings, no matter how often we rebel against Him, He is ready to meet with us, to fill us with comfort, to ease our pains with His love, and to banish our shame with His grace. 

Lord, forgive us for the times we have failed to make meeting with you a priority. Always bring us back to you with your love - for your compassion never fails. Amen.