“Wi-Fi stinks!” That’s what my husband told me today. And in so many ways, he’s right. In our tiny little house, where our computers are just one room away from the router/modem, my poor hubby had to deal with his internet connection dropping four, five, six times or more each day. So, the techno-geek in me said to myself, “There must be a way to fix this!” My old “systems analyst” nature got the best of me and I spent well over an hour online, trying to figure out why my laptop got great Wi-Fi coverage, while his did not.

And what I found was not surprising: it could be any one of a dozen problems related to everything from the age of his laptop, to the walls in the house, and everything in between. Grrr…. So we solved the problem in the quickest, simplest way I knew how – we connected his computer to the Internet with a good old-fashioned Ethernet cable. Done! Works like a charm! Yes, we now have a stupid chord running from his office to the router/modem, but who cares? He is connected! Hallelujah!

By now you may be thinking to yourself, what’s gotten into Mary? She usually writes something a bit deeper than all this Internet talk. Well, here’s the thing I realized in the midst of our battle with technology. Staying connected doesn’t only affect our computer’s relationship with the Internet. Maintaining a good connection affects our relationship with everything and everyone – especially our Father God.

We lose power when we lose connection. We miss communication and important messages when we lose connection. We can’t get the help we need when we lose connection. And worst of all, we can’t have real relationships when we lose connection.

You know what I mean don’t you? Have you ever been in the middle of a really important conversation with someone on your cell phone, when suddenly the connection went bad (who knows why – a tunnel, a cloud, a tree, an alien from Mars – just kidding on that last one) and you could no longer clearly hear what the other person was saying?

That’s not good! How can you listen and help a friend, when you can’t hear them? And the same thing happens when something interferes with our connection to God. We’re trying to listen, but we aren’t hearing anything. Our Wi-Fi connection to heaven is down!

So, the question is, how do we “hard wire” our connection to God? We need something that is immune to interference, kind of like a good, strong Ethernet cable. The big problem with Wi-Fi is that there are so many things that can interfere, and far too many points of failure. That’s why a simple cable is such a sweet solution… it takes out most of those failure points. But what can we do to remove the failure points in our connection to God?

First we have to diagnose the problems. We need to do a little techno-geek investigation… research what the points of interference are in our lives, and where our connection to God is failing.

Is it time? Do we need to get up a bit early to spend time with Him? Is it distraction? Could we spend a little less time in front of the TV or electronic games? Or perhaps it’s that we’ve allowed so many other things to simply take priority. How many of us spend hours at the gym to stay ‘fit’ but don’t have ten minutes a day to spend with God? So start with the diagnosis. Where is the interference? Then go on to making the rock-solid connection.

The best way to create that unbreakable connection to our Father God is through two very tangible daily habits – staying in His Word and prayer. (For me, that means journaling my prayers, as I get far too distracted when I am not writing my thoughts.)

God’s Word and prayer are like the two ends of an Ethernet cable, one connected to God and the other to me. And the interesting thing is that God’s end of the connection is never broken. His Word is always true, always alive, and always powerful to teach and give us life. “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Hebrews 4:12 NLT)

But I can so easily disconnect on my end! When I neglect spending time in God’s Word or when I don’t take the time I need for prayer, my connection is broken. I’ve unplugged the cable from my end. And guess what? When we’re not connected, we lose God’s power in our lives.

So today, as I sit here looking at the silly Ethernet cable strung from my husband’s upstairs office down to our “source of power” – the router/modem – I am reminded once again of the importance of a solid connection. Our simple, sure, enduring connection to God comes through His Word and prayer, ensuring that our relationship with a loving Father need never suffer the unsettling interference of unstable Wi-Fi. Aren’t you glad our God is SO much bigger than the Internet? I know I am!

We’d love to hear how you ‘connect’ with God. What is it in your life that keeps you “hard wired” into Him? Share it with us by using the “Comments” link at the top right side of this page.

Blessings to you all!
Mary