A.K.A, communion.

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen!

As an author, we sincerely appreciate those who have faithfully tuned into these articles, and we are so thankful to be able to share with you our first article of 2024! I am so happy to announce that, as writers with a hope of using our words to encourage and edify others, that our last few articles have reached close to 1,000 reads! It touches our hearts and encourages us hearing so many people be moved by our stories. Thank you!

If it’s your first time tuning in, welcome! We are currently in a series on social media. We last left off discussing the impacts of social media, mainly focusing on the topic of comparison. We discussed how to deal with comparison, what comparison usually starts off as, and how it is a thief of joy by blinding you to the beauty you have access to. (If you struggle with comparison, I highly recommend the read. 🙂 )

Today, we felt as if it’d be necessary to shine a light on your relationship with God. Allow me to elaborate- We live in a society that is constantly busy, and being “on a grind 24/7” is usually something smiled upon. My question to you is: In contrast to how many minutes, hours, or even days you spend on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, twitter (now named X apparently), or whatever other social media platform you use- how much of that time do you devote to God?

I understand that life is difficult, chaotic, and sometimes even absolutely crazy (coming from a high school student myself) – but through it all, are you still finding time to be in his presence? 

When you understand the power, authority, and access you have as a child of God- the way you not only see, but perceive and experience life completely changes. Even the way you see yourself changes in itself. In a world that has so many voices trying to get our attention; so many opinions that are passed as “individual truth,” we need to make sure we are in God’s word so that we have the ability to distinct between the lies of the enemy, fallacies, and Truth. 

You see, there is no such thing as “individual truth.” The definition of truth is, “that which is in accordance with fact or reality.” Too often in today’s world, society boldly confuses truth with personal opinions and fantasies, but truth is God’s final say about situations and circumstances- regardless of what some may think. The purpose of saying this is to help you understand why it’s so important to stay firm in God’s word, and run back to his presence as a safe-base whenever you go through the troubles of life. If you aren’t in God’s presence, in his word, constantly feeding your spirit, it will become very easy for you to be in the presence of the “world,” in its false truth, constantly feeding your flesh. In the worst case scenario, your conscience might even become seared- as like many peoples’ are in today’s world. The most dangerous part about this is the idea of you drifting SO far away from God, into the world’s opinions, that you don’t even realize how far you’ve drifted because you lost focus on Christ. God’s opinion in our lives, if we put him first, has to be the main opinion.

My second main point is: God has feelings too. 

Think about it. Imagine you sincerely care for someone out of a deep love, and miss their presence everytime they leave you. You intercede for them daily, even staying up in the middle of the night to pray with them- talking with them and yearning for their communication.

Now, imagine that person just stops talking to you. They never text. They never call. They never even reach out to thank you for all the times you’ve been there for them, and if they do- that’s as far as the communication would go. They tell you they love you, and brag to others about that- but never pick up the phone to even call you for 1 minute or so, saying they’re “too busy.” Would that not hurt you?

So often, WE can be that person towards God. We say we love him, that we live for him, but never spend time in his presence. His word says that we can cast our cares upon him, because he CARES for US. He yearns for communication with you, and if no one has told you- allow me to be the one to say that you are loved, called, chosen, by God. and made righteous in God’s eyes. I feel in my spirit that a lot of you reading this are struggling with anxiety, worry, concern, and so much more- ESPECIALLY about your future. My encouragement to you would be: Cast your cares on him, and spend time in his presence. I promise you, even if you don’t feel it, he’s there with you, and he wants to hear from you- so don’t be discouraged.

My third main point is: Social media is a stronghold. I’ve heard strongholds be defined as, “Something you continually and habitually run back to when in stress,” but in my definition, it is, “Something that holds you hostage mentally, spiritually, and physically- locking you in an inner bondage to that thing.” Now, I’m not saying absolutely everyone who uses social media is addicted to it, but what I am saying is a lot of you reading this are held in a stronghold by tik tok, by instagram, by youtube, or whatever it be- so much so that you can’t even sit by yourself in a room without having those distractions constantly going. Whenever you’re in stress, you run right back to your phone, or your tablet, or your computer to provide you a “sense of comfort” from your loneliness, or maybe even your own thoughts. Some people can’t even have a genuine conversation with another human being for longer than 10-15 minutes without pulling out their phone.  And, unfortunately, this has been normalized by people of all age ranges, not just teenagers. For those who struggle with that, I want you to understand that God is with you wherever you go, and you don’t have to run to a piece of technology to provide you comfort, and self-assurance, because only God’s presence can truly provide that for you. I’ve mentioned this in our previous articles, but I genuinely want you to realize that when your eyes are glued to a screen, you miss out on the life in front of you that God has called you to live.

So, as you go about your day, let this be a reminder to prioritize being in the presence of The Lord over worldly things, whether that be through quiet prayer time, worship, or etc.

That’s all we have for today, folks, BUT- please do stay tuned in for our next article, which I intend to make incredibly packed with nothing but wisdom and truth, mainly focusing on the power of prayer. Feel free to comment on topics you guys would like to see discussed! 🙂