Eating Yourself Out Of The "I-Know-Who-You-Are-But-I-Don't-Really-Know-You" Relationship

I was reading in John 6 yesterday. I stumbled upon the verse where the disciples ask Jesus to give them the bread of God that Jesus describes as "he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

Who is the bread of God?

JESUS. He declares this in verse 35: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

Well obviously, you must be thinking. This is no surprise.

But when I read this verse once again, for the fifty-seventh time I'm sure, something struck me. I was reminded of the Lord's Prayer. Here's the excerpt from it that hit me:
"Give us today our daily bread (Matthew 6:11)."

I immediately connected this 'daily bread' with Jesus' declaration of Himself being the bread of life. Simply put: The Lord is the bread and we NEED the bread daily in order to remain spiritually nourished.

It's just like maintaining a healthy diet by utilizing the food pyramid - we need grains, fruit, vegetables, proteins, dairy, and a teeny tiny portion of fat. If we cut off intake of any one of these food groups, we will lack important vitamins and minerals we need to stay healthy.
When we don't get our daily dosage of "spiritual" bread, AKA Jesus, then our relationship with God will stagger. Look at it this way: If you look like the perfect Christian on the outside - you lead worship every Sunday morning, you volunteer at youth group, and you go to Bible study on Wednesday nights with your friends - but you do not spend any extra one-on-one time with the Lord, then your relationship with Him is weak. Your roots are thin and withered.

You may be connecting with God other times, but the Lord desires to be sought after. He wants you to actually set aside time for Him out of your crazy busy schedule just to soak in His presence. He is a jealous God!

I'm not trying to convict you of anything. This is something I've been struggling with ever since I gave my heart to the Lord. When the Lord delivered me of a past relationship and started to heal me emotionally, I finally started pursuing the Lord in my own time. Before that my Christian life consisted of Sunday morning services and youth group every once in awhile (and only because my mom made me attend). My "relationship" with the Lord wasn't even a real relationship. It was an "I-know-who-you-are-but-I-don't-really-know-you" acquaintance. Super awkward, right? Like a familiarity with that person in your Psychology class who sits beside you and you hold "small talk" every class period, but every time you see them elsewhere it's just plain awkward because you don't know them that well. That's exactly how it is with the Lord when you aren't scheduling time out of your own day for Him!

This school year has been incredibly transforming for me. The Lord pulled me up out of the muddy pit I was treading in, washed me, and now I feel like I can begin to climb the mountain towards the dream God has called me to. It's not easy. The devil likes to deter my journey by thrusting obstacles in my way; and I learned that it will take a lifetime to reach the top of the mountain. But learning how to spend time with the Lord daily - maybe only a simple 5-minute prayer or quick read-through of one of the Psalms - that dramatically impacts my day. I can wake up cranky and tired from getting only five hours of sleep and go to class with a negative attitude, or I can jump out of bed and dig into the Word. One little verse can bring a flood of encouragement to spark my day off on the right note. It's too cool how God speaks even in the mere seconds we give Him.

Bread is becoming a vital component of my spiritual food. I love worshiping and fellowshiping with other believers, but if I'm not devoting a portion of my day to just talk with God in my own time, then how can I grow? Relationships aren't built unless both sides take time investing in one another.

I want to become intimate with the Lord. I want to desire him constantly. I know that He abides inside of me and is my Friend, but I want to dedicate extra time just to get to know Him more. And not only times that fit into my schedule well. ALL THE TIME. A constant connection. I will "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8) by "eating" the bread that never goes out of stock.