if we’re not spending time with Jesus, we’re not going to be a very good reflection of Him or His love to others.

The dictionary defines “communion” as “a feeling of emotional or spiritual closeness, a connection.” So communing with Jesus means to make an emotional and spiritual connection with Jesus. Praise, prayer, and reading God’s Word are all ways of making and sustaining that connection. These are the lifeblood of our spiritual lives.

Building self-esteem often has a lot to do with your relationship with the Lord. The closer you draw to Him and the more at peace you are with Him, the more content and at peace you’ll be with yourself, and the happier and more relaxed you’ll be. When you’re living close to the Lord, you’re handsome or beautiful because His love and His light are shining through.

Praising God for every circumstance does not mean we close our eyes to the difficulties. When we praise God, we thank Him for our situation, not in spite of it. We are not trying to avoid our dilemmas. Rather, Jesus is showing us a way to overcome them.—Merlin Carothers, Prison to Praise

Find the best time in your daily routine to retreat to your quiet place, and make it a habit. Turn off your phone, and begin your quiet time by putting your problems and concerns in God’s capable, loving hands. Enter into God’s presence.

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Exodus 14:14 ESV – The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

Psalm 4:4 ESV – Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

Proverbs 29:11 ESV – A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

The Bible has lots to say about walking. We are advised to walk in God’s ways, to walk in the way of goodness, to walk in the Spirit, to walk properly, to walk in love, to walk in wisdom, to walk in truth, and to walk in a way that pleases God.