Relationships take investing in. The more you invest the closer your relationships become. When you stop investing, the relationship ceases to exist.

 

I had a sweet one call me this week, sharing how she would like to invest in getting to know me. It made my eyes fill with tears! Her kind expression let me know that she felt I was valuable enough for her to invest in me as a new friend. How precious is it to hear someone would like to invest in knowing you? Can you imagine how Christ feels when He sees someone investing in getting to know Him? Maybe His eyes fill with tears also.

 

Often one might desire to be where I am spiritually with Christ. I, too, have that same desire very often when it comes to others I admire, but there is something I’ve learned over my years with Christ. You’ll have to commit to actually investing in your relationship with Him.

 

You never know the cost of another’s walk that got them nearer to Jesus. You’ve not carried their cross, obeyed like they had to, or given Jesus the time they have. I can’t skip over my own intimate steps to knowing Christ. There are no shortcuts. I’ve found every act of obedience in little things allowed Him to then entrust me with more. It is entirely biblical and entirely up to you as to how much of Jesus you want to know well.

 

There are no overnight successes. You merely often hear of the success stories. Rarely do you hear of the years of hard plowing, tearful valleys, and costly obedience behind the scenes one had to take to get to where they are with Christ.

 

Even today, I am enrolled in an online course to remain a student of the things of God. I must continue to invest in my relationship with Him to keep learning more and more about Him.

 

Investing means spending time with Him and for Him. I’ll be releasing many real-life stories on my podcast soon of miracle deliveries God required of me over the years. Each act of obedience, no matter how crazy it seemed, taught me more about Jesus and unlocked His deeper places to me. While it unlocked the deeper places in Jesus, it also unlocked the deeper places in me.

 

Hear me, please, when I say that obedience is a very critical key.

 

If you remain wrapped up with worldly endeavors, you’ll not go very far with Christ. That couch is comfy, but if you want to walk in supernatural things with Christ you’ll have to learn to do some exercising with Him.

 

There is a scripture that talks about “Exercising your gifts.” That means a practicing of it.

 

I’ve acted on the voice of God many times early on, unsure if I was hearing correctly. Every time I found the courage to deliver a miracle in the way of poetry, music, personal visits, phone calls, text messages, or words from a stage, I gained experience with Him.

 

I had to “Come alive in Christ” which meant putting what I read in the scriptures to work in my daily life.

 

I, Shelly, found I could prophesy a word of hope to a hurting heart and shift his, or her, life. I could mail a poem that was way too insightful for human wisdom and let someone know God saw their hidden heart pains. I could deliver a tearful message from my own painful seasons to show someone that God will absolutely get them to the other side of their valley.

 

You can too in the unique way He has designed you.

 

But you’ll have to learn to invest.

 

The more you invest in and for Jesus, the more you’ll learn and be used by Him.

 

I hope you choose to invest whatever you must to see Heaven on earth. For the ONE who sits on the throne in the midst of 100 million angels is alive and at work here in our midst, today.

 

Come alive in Christ Jesus by investing fully in Him!