Do You Practice Dial-Up or Broadband Spirituality?

In his book, Signs of Life, David Jeremiah wrote about the difference between dial-up and broadband spirituality. He wrote, “Too many Christians log on to God once a day when they have their quiet time or once a week when they go to church. They pray; they read their Bible; they’ve connected with God. And that’s good…as far as it goes. The problem with that approach to the spiritual life is that there is no sense of being ‘always on’ __ no sense of living in the moment with God once you’ve finished your quiet time. You open your Bible, bow in prayer, conduct your business with God, and then log off for the day” (p. 17).

The reality is that there are more dial-up Christians than there are broadband ones. They pride themselves on the few minutes that they allot to God each day. There biggest concern is whether they should give Him the five or ten minutes in the morning or at the end of the day. They pride themselves on their faithfulness to this special time. Besides the time allotted, they remain disconnected for the remainder of the day unless a problem arises that they do not feel capable of fixing.

Before you start having thoughts of how judgmental this sounds, let me add that we all have the tendency to be dial-up Christians. Our mistake is to believe that we can handle most things on our own. We do not want to bother Christ with the mundane things of life. We make all kinds of decisions without consulting Him and, when our decision proves to be faulty, we blame Him for letting us fall into the mess we find ourselves in. The truth is most of the messes in our lives would never occur, if we would switch from dial-up to broadband.

Broadband Christians may set aside a special time each day with the Lord, but they understand that this time is not enough. They understand the importance of Paul’s mandate to the Thessalonians. He told them to “pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians. 4:17 (NASB). They know that they need God’s input throughout the day. This doesn’t mean that there is a constant stream of information being passed to them, but it does mean their mind is open to receive directions anytime God wishes to send them. They recognize it is dangerous to tell God that He must wait till morning or evening to give His input.

The benefits of being broadband Christians are many. They are always open to the divine appointments that God puts in their path during the day; they are never turned off to God’s directions; and they do not miss the divine opportunities that God provides each day. As a result, they fulfill God’s command to be salt and light in their world.

It would behoove us all to make a commitment to broadband spirituality. Thank Him for the little blessings. Develop a constant awareness of His presence in your life. Always remember He is with you. Switch to broadband Christianity today. To do so would increase your ability to live your live in the center of God’s Will. It enables you to become a blessing to yourself and to the people around you.