Unplugging Again to Plug Into God

When I met with a future author recently he quoted a scripture that I say all the time yet he explained it in a way I had never thought of. “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11) I understand all parts of the scripture, but I had lost sight of what it means to be in the presence of God and the peace that accompanies the joy. In two previous blogs I wrote about my struggle with anger and my struggle with losing focus on my writing. Last weekend I figured out that it was because I have been neglecting to spend real time in the presence of God. Not only that I honestly don’t have a legitimate reason for NOT spending more time with Him. The usual suspects have been my recent distractions: phone, TV, video games. During communion we are reminded to examine ourselves, but does it only have to be during communion? When I examined my bad mood, salty disposition, and laziness, I recognized that all of it has been a result of a lack of devoted time with God. God didn’t go anywhere. I did. I had to remember that the remedy has been here all along waiting for me to return. The remedy is spending time in God’s presence, and here is what my friend reminded me of. We were talking about how things change when we spend time with God. Less worry, less anxiety, less anger, less stress, less a lot of negative feelings and emotions. In exchange God gives us His peace. And that’s what I had been missing out on. The peace of God that surpasses all understanding. TV can’t give me peace, nor can social media. Tonight as I’m writing this I have yet to turn on the TV or my phone with all of its distractions. Now to take this one day at a time by unplugging and reconnecting like I did before.