A few years ago, my Dad took pen in hand and wrote a song that I couldn’t wait to record. “Blood Kin” was the recording on which it fit so well. The song, “I Made Time For You,” is fun and peppy, and it has a great message that Martha and I would like to expound upon for a few moments. The chorus goes like this:

I made time for you to find out who I am;

I made time for you to seek me while you can.

I’m not so far away that I can’t be found;

I made time for you when I made the world go round.

Our time here on earth is made up of a string of moments that are opportunities to seek, find, know, and enjoy God here on this earth. Some seek God out of fear of the judgement to come. Some seek out of guilt. Some seek out of extreme need. No matter what the reason that you seek God, He has promised that those who seek will find. He wants to be found, otherwise, no person ever could find him. He wants to be known — that’s why He created in the first place! At all times, in all places, God is revealing Himself, not just to His children, but to all people (Romans 1:19, Acts 14:17).

I’ve heard it said that an atheist can’t find God for the same reason that a thief can’t find a policeman: “He don’t want to.” That’s the way all of us have been at some point with God. I say that and think, “Yes, back when I was an unbeliever.” But even today, after many years of being a Christian, I often find myself in the middle of a pity party, seeing only gloom and doom. I feel myself slipping into my own private little corner, hunting my own personal fig leaf. Finding God, or God finding me, isn’t the top of my priority list at that moment. In this modern, super-secular world, physical nakedness is becoming less and less of an issue, but spiritual nakedness is just about as uncomfortable as it ever was. I’m so glad that, like in the Garden of Eden, God still comes seeking after me even when I’m hiding from Him.

As children of our Heavenly Father, our relationship with God is similar to any relationship we have on this side of heaven. That which makes a bad relationship on earth, makes a bad relationship with God. That which makes a good relationship on earth, makes a good relationship with the Eternal One. If Martha and I just co-existed in the same house, but lived as though we were single, confining our time together to Sunday morning, frankly put, we would have a crappy marriage!  

I promised Martha before we got married that I would always honestly tell her anything that she asked. I had no idea what I was in for. I’ve at times slightly regretted making such a broad agreement. I’ve had to reveal things that I wasn’t exactly proud to be thinking. Before you start wondering about my dirty laundry, just remember you have your own pile. It has been sometimes an uncomfortable blessing to have a spiritually strong person who knows me so well, who will out of love be brutally honest with me and hash out the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sidenote: I’m not talking about nagging or harassment, but a healthy love for one another that desires to skim the dross off the top. C.S. Lewis said, “Love is more sensitive than hatred itself to every blemish in the beloved… Love forgives most, but condones least: Love is pleased with little, but demands all.” 

That’s the case in a godly marriage, and that is much more so the case in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Seeking after Him personally, means that He is personally seeking after us (Psalm 27:8), and in the process, will personally sanctify us. God doesn’t have a “don’t ask, don’t tell policy,” and He doesn’t make appointments with us for when He decides to work on us. With David we can say, “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me” (Psalm 139:5). He is always with us, and is constantly perfecting us in love.  

His Word is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, and it cuts deep into the the core of who we are. Though His wielding of this instrument is sometimes painful, it necessarily and compassionately carves away at the smelly, decaying carcass of our body of sin (Romans 6:6). How often do we find ourselves wondering “Where did this situation come from?” “Why is this person in my life?” or “What am I doing here?” As Christians, we must take the Word of God at its word when it says that God is in control. Whether a circumstance seems good or whether it seems bad, at all times we can say with David, “Even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:10).

“In every place I look are glimpses of His face;

In all the good and simple things are echoes of His grace.” 

This second verse of the song is our encouragement to you: Realize that as a child of God, all circumstances in your life are invitations to know God better, and are avenues by which you can see His hand at work. Approach every person and every situation with the full assurance that God will work in the midst of it all to draw you closer. He’s not so far away that He can’t be found. He loves us as we are, so put down the fig leaf and don’t walk – run to Him! 

As a special gift to you who read this devotional, I want to offer you a free download of the song on which this devotional is based. ‘I Made Time For You.’ All you have to do is email your name, city, state, and a comment to miles@milespikemusic.com.

Thanks for reading! Now cancel your plans to watch the evening news and make time for God. I can already tell you the news is gonna be bad anyway.

See you on down the road,

Miles & Mar