{"id":4657,"date":"2020-08-02T12:49:11","date_gmt":"2020-08-02T18:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=4657"},"modified":"2020-08-02T12:49:14","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T18:49:14","slug":"evaluating-our-attachment-to-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=4657","title":{"rendered":"Evaluating our Attachment to God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bible Verse for today<\/strong>: \u201c\u2026He raised up David\nto be their king, of whom he testified and said, \u2018I have found in David the son\nof Jesse a <\/strong>man after my heart<\/strong>, who will do all my will.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acts 13:22 ESV) \u201cAbraham believed <\/em>God, and it was\ncounted to him as righteousness\u201d\u2014and he was called a <\/strong>friend of God<\/strong><\/em>.<\/strong>\u201d  (James 2:23 ESV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our relationship\nwith God can serve as the basis for healthy relationships with others. In our\nzoom class today on \u201cThe Bible and Mental Health\u201d Ron Hanson shared about \u201cAttachment\nBonds: How They Shape Relationships.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychologist\nJohn Bowlby says, \u201cthe concept of attachment is a lasting psychological\nconnectedness between human beings.\u201d <\/em>If we apply that spiritually we could\nsay, \u201cattachment is a lasting spiritual connectedness between an individual\nand God.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can be thankful\nas New Testament believers for the relationship with God through Jesus Christ\nthat is afforded to us by forgiveness and grace offered in the cross. That is\nwhy when I read of the lives of Old Testament leaders and especially David\u2019s relationship\nwith the Lord in the Psalms it is even more striking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are four distinguishing characteristics of attachment physiologically and they have an application to our spiritual lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 \u2013 Proximity\nMaintenance <\/strong>\u2013 The desire to be near the people we are attached to. Application:\nDo you value and cultivate the Lord\u2019s presence in your life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201c\u2026in your presence there is\nfullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.\u201d<\/em> Psalm\n16:11 \u201c\u2026Set me in your presence forever<\/em>.\u201d Psalm 41:12 \u201c\u2026The upright shall\ndwell in your presence.\u201d<\/em> Psalm\n140:13 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 \u2013 Safe Haven<\/strong>\n\u2013 Returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety in the face of fear\nor threat. Application: Is the Lord a source of comfort, safety and\nsecurity for your life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe LORD\nis my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take\nrefuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.\u201d<\/em> Psalm 18:2 (NIV) \u201d\u2026I call as my heart\ngrows faint;<\/em> <\/em>lead me to the\nrock that is higher than I.<\/em> Psalm 61:2 (NVI)
\n
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 \u2013 Secure Base<\/strong> \u2013 The attachment figure acts as\nstability from which a person ventures into activities of daily living. Application:\nTake the Lord with you each day every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor it is you who light my lamp; t<\/em>he <\/em>LORD<\/em> my God lightens my darkness.\n<\/em>For by you I can run against a troop, <\/em>and by my God I\ncan leap over a wall.\u201d<\/em> Psalm 18:28,29 (NIV) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Moses was preparing to lead God\u2019s people to the promised land, the Lord responded to his plea for help with these words, \u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>\u201dThe\u00a0Lord\u00a0replied, \u201cMy Presence\u00a0will go with you, and I will give you rest.\u201d<\/em> Moses’ response back to the Lord was, \u201cIf your Presence\u00a0does not go with us, do not send us up from here.\u201d<\/em> (Exodus 33:14,15 NIV) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember how the Children\nof Israel in the wilderness were not to move unless they were following the\ncloud? That is a good reminder of how important it is for us to trust the Lore\nfor His daily guidance, protection and provision for our life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 \u2013 Separation Distress<\/strong> \u2013 Anxiety that occurs in the absence of the attachment figure. Application: Are we aware of the decisions and actions that bring separation between us and the Lord? While we can be confident of the Lord\u2019s love, we must desire to always be close to Him. We see King David\u2019s prayer of repentance included this plea:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo not cast me from your presence<\/em>   <\/em>or take your Holy Spirit from me.\u201d<\/em> Psalm 51:11 NIV<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you?\u00a0\u00a0And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.\u201d<\/em> Psalm 73:23-26<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I encourage you to look for other verses and the application of these concepts for your life. When we are secure in our relationship with the Lord it will serve as the basis for our healthy relationships with others. We won\u2019t be looking for people to meet the needs that God alone can meet on a consistent basis. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bible Verse for today: \u201c\u2026He raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, \u2018I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.\u201d Acts 13:22 ESV) \u201cAbraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness\u201d\u2014and he was called a friend of God.\u201d  (James 2:23 ESV) Our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4657"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4658,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4657\/revisions\/4658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}