Parking yourself in the garage does not mean you are a car
Belonging to a church does not make you a Christian. It may be a great church, people may be happy and giving. However, if a person is devoted to the church more than they are devoted to God, that is a problem. Most churches have rules. Some of them may not be written.
I’m not saying at all that churches are bad. Some churches are focused on personal relationships with Christ. They don’t all follow certain rules or narratives. Some are truly spirit led.
I might have a little bias when it comes to churches. My parents were both pastors. They went to Bible college. They started several churches. At times in their lives when they weren’t actively pastoring, we would just go to churches. My parents would get involved with the people for fellowship. Sometimes they taught classes for the church. They didn’t teach from a church narrative however, they taught what the Holy Spirit led them to teach. That being said, they were kicked out of several churches, basically for not following the church narrative.
My parents were the closest people to God that I knew. Absolutely everything in their lives was totally focused on God. Of course, I mourned when they died. However. I realized that I not only mourned because they were gone, but because they were my direct line to Jesus, and that was gone.
I always had faith and believed in God, but I allowed many other things to be more important than God. I relied on my parents for blessings, and to hear the word of God. Even as an adult, if I was ever distressed, or scared, or distraught about anything, I would go to them, and they would pray for me. I always felt the overwhelming spirit of peace and indescribable love. It was because they were absolutely filled with the love of God. I would drift away from God and go to my parents and get my spirit renewed. All fear would be gone. After they died, I had to make my own direct line. That’s exactly what I did.
It was a long road getting there. It really started happening when I divorced after 32 years of marriage. Left me with just me and my dog. It pushed me to get closer to God. I had to do everything by myself. I had to emotionally deal with my children who didn’t really understand the divorce, I had to kill spiders myself, and so many other things.
I knew that I needed God or I would not be able to keep my peace. I devoted every morning to God and still do. I pray and read the Bible and read books that will help me get closer to God. Praying and reading as a habit is great, however, it can become repetitive and prayers can seem monotone. It’s the taking time to listen first and asking God to guide my prayers and guide my reading. Kind of like spending time with a friend. You want to catch up with a friend, find out what’s going on in their life and vice versa. I believe that’s how God wants our fellowship with him. Maybe someone is in need and he can direct you to. Maybe he knows someone that can give you something you need and he can direct you to them. Maybe he wants you to go to church. Maybe there is a message just for you that day. Maybe he wants you to just sit with him, and his presence. Sometimes a good friend just wants you near and there doesn’t have to be a conversation, just being in each others presence is good enough.
God wants you near him all the time. If you want perfect peace, you need to stay in the presence of God. Going to church doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the presence of God, but his presence will likely be there, and you will likely feel it.
Wherever you go, take Him with you. Anytime you stress about anything just stop and look to Him and hand your burdens to Him. That is what the cross is about. He became sin, and by His stripes we are healed. We don’t need to hold onto any burdens . He’s there to take them and replace them with His indescribable peace and love.