In The Secret

Freedom. It was like the word of the day.

A week ago at church during worship, God spoke pretty clearly to me about something I needed to do. I needed to step away from social media for a week.

God was drawing me closer to His heart during worship, deeper into new places with Him, and I realized- if I wanted to go further with Him like this, I had to set aside things and lay them down to pursue Him more fully.. I wanted to abide in His presence without a tug to do anything else trying to pull me away. I wanted to clear out all other voices so I could focus on hearing His alone. I needed to be in the Word more, and spend time reading the truth so it would fill my mind.

I wanted a clear heart and clear mind, I wanted to be free of any distractions or time-suckers, and just to set aside myself wholly so nothing would keep me from fully pursuing the Lord. So I logged out of everything; Facebook, tumblr, twitter, WordPress, etc. It honestly was not a hard decision for me to make, and I felt free doing it.

Not having everything that was happening online on my mind was liberating. I didn’t have to think about it, and I could focus on what was right in front of me and the things I needed to deal with or do myself. I spent time praying about how I connect with others both off and online, and what changes God would like for me to make so I can maintain healthy relationships with others that would be honoring to Him.

I had to remove myself from social media because honestly, I was getting too engrossed. It was easy. I spend a lot of time on my own, and I had begun to allow social media become a way of how I connected to others. That’s the purpose of social media, but it can’t become the main way you feel connected to people. If I have learned anything from social media, knowing people and connecting to them through it is pretty great. But seeing them in person and spending time with them is ten times better. You get to know them in a way that you can’t when you’re not together. The truth is, you can have “friends” or “followers”, but social media cannot substitute having real friendships in your life.

Real friendships were lacking in my life, and I needed to work on that. During the week, I started being more intentional about talking to people in my life and working on the the relationships I have face-to-face with people who live near me.  I started being able to invest better in those people because had more of my attention and time, and I needed them too.

I didn’t check my phone while I was with someone else. I didn’t need to share everything that was happening in my day. I had some amazing things happen, some great adventures, and guess what- they are mostly all between me and God, or the people who were a part of it. There’s something powerful about that. Keeping the best moments between just you and the ones you share it with- it creates a deeper level of intimacy, that it belongs to you and them, and no one else has to understand or know, because they do.

“There are moments in life far too beautiful to be spoken of. I wish to be left speechless over, and over, and over again.” – [d.l]

I realized in a lot of the great moments of this week, how alone I often am, and how powerful it is in those moments to simply be like, “Hey God, You are with me, and You are in this moment, and You know. That’s enough for me. I will simply enjoy this with You. Thank You for being with me.” It isn’t easy at first, but the more you make that choice, the more satisfying it becomes, and the closer it binds you together.

I’m glad I took the time aside to re-evaluate how social media is a part of my life and how God would want me to use it. I can say, I definitely have some things to work on! And I’m excited to see how God helps me carry out some of the changes He’s put on my heart to work on.

One of the best things about social media is getting to know people, connect with them, share your life and thoughts with them, promote worthy causes, help others, learn, understand, grow, and the inspiration and encouragement you can give and receive. Sometimes, it is not the best- when people get self-absorbed, attention-seeking, prideful, or use it to just argue and push their opinions in a way that is not loving. It also can be hazardous when you are lonely and use it as the fix- but the answer is investing in relationships with people who are present in your life. Social media can be such a tool for good, but taking the time to see how God would have us use it in a way that honors and glorifies Him is something I hope we all pause to do.

I just want to be closer to God’s heart and not let anything ever get in the way of that. I want to honor God in my relationships and the way I interact with others, and to ultimately glorify Him (not myself). Thank God for an awesome week of growing and learning. This week has been great. I could tell so many stories of all the things that happened, but you know- it is one of those things that makes relationships what they are. People ask about your life and get to know you, and you get to share, and it builds your relationship. You have to make an effort and they do. I would love to share, but keeping things hidden that creates that opportunity for others to seek them out to know. I’m walking more towards that. That is a place of freedom.

This is the bottom line for me: We are called to cultivate our relationships with others out of the overflow of intimacy with God. Our time, in the secret, with Him, is what will most definite and shape our relationships with others. So nothing should ever take away from the importance of setting aside ourselves to spend time in His presence, seeking to know His heart, listening to hear His voice. We must worship God and love God secretly and privately, in the secret place where no one sees or knows. Then out of that place of intimacy, we will be filled and able to overflow into others. We will worship Him and love Him out of that place of deep fellowship with His heart. And we will be connected first of all to Him, so we can better share His heart with others. The most important place of connection in our lives is in the secret.