Relationship with God

At this point, it is important to take a look at what the elements of relationships are. To begin, it is about two people who want to spend time with each other. So, when you get together, what do you do? You both talk some, listen to what the other is saying, do things to please the other person, do things for the other person because you care about them even though you may not like the activity, help each other through difficult times, comfort each other, laugh with each other, spend quiet time together just enjoying each other’s company, and the list goes on. As time goes on, there is an element of trust that develops, and you protect your relationship so as not to harm the other person or do something that will cause them to not trust you. If you don’t have trust, there is no basis for security in the other’s presence. Each person must believe they can tell the other anything and it will not be used against them, spoken of behind their back, or used as a reason to reject them. We all have our faults, and to learn to accept each other, warts and all, is true friendship. Now, when we think about our relationship with God, these same aspects of relationship apply. We can talk with Him, listen to Him and do things that we know please Him. We must learn to trust Him, too. It’s not easy, especially if we have discovered we can’t always trust other people. No human being is completely trustworthy, but God is. We need to understand what He thinks of us, that is, us personally and not just “the world”.  

Another aspect of relationships that we must keep in mind is that we have different kinds of relationships with people. For example, the person we married is our mate, our friend, the mother/father of our children, our partner in business transactions concerning the home, etc.  The same is true with God.  Let me explain. God is first and foremost our Creator. He formed man out of the dust of the earth. He is also our Father, having given each of us life. He is our Friend, who is there to help us and to spend time with us. He is our Master, who has the right to command that we do or not do certain things and to expect that we will carry out His wishes; after all, we have been bought with a price (ransomed) - the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is our Brother as well as our Savior, and the Holy Spirit is our Comforter as well as Counselor and Guide through life. There are many different aspects of our relationship with God. He is there for us in any way we can conceivably need Him to be. He is not, however, a genie in a bottle, there to do our every command, but He is there to help us live this life He has given us. He did not just create us and then set us on our own wishing us good luck and hoping we make it to Heaven. He is with us (Immanuel - God with us) every step of the way. The one thing we need to remember, which underlines all of the different aspects of our relationship with God, is that above all, God is our authority. He demands and deserves our obedience, not because He is power hungry, but because He already knows all about the pitfalls of life and how best to avoid them; we do not. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they did indeed come to know good and evil; however, they did not know what that meant or how to deal with it. He loves us and wants the best for us, therefore, He tells us obey His rules in order that we will live happy lives as well as to help others around us do the same.

So, with these things said, the best way to begin a relationship with God is the same as with anyone else; spending time with Him and living life with Him. When you get to points in your life where you don’t know what to do, ask Him what to do. Share your thoughts and feelings with Him. Share the good, the bad and the secret. Do you think “what good will it do to share all those things with God?” Perhaps you wonder if God will reject you for what you say or the way you say it. All kinds of questions about what the result will be if you should start a close relationship with God arise, but then you will never know the answers to them if you do not try. Oh, did I forget to tell you that there is an element of risk when you start a relationship with anyone? Oh, yes, there is, but you will never understand that there really is no risk where God is concerned if you do not take the first step toward discovery. Risk of rejectino from other people? Certainly. From God? Never, but again, you won’t know that until you do what Moses did just before the waters parted before him...he got his feet wet first. He stepped into the water before he fully understood how God was going to meet his need (you will have to read the story to find out what I'm talking about). I can spend the rest of my time and effort telling you how great a relationship with God is and how trustworthy I’ve found Him to be, but this knowledge will never be yours unless you try to find this out for yourself. My hope and prayer is that you will step out of your comfort zone, take a risk and “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

As for the mechanics (the “how to”) of relationship with God. You take time to read the Bible, which is God’s words to you, and as you read, you will find that something which is written strikes a cord with you, and then you pray, or talk with God about it. You may find that you want to study that topic a little more, in which case you get out some of the study aids that have been mentioned in the "Tools of the Believer" blog to help you do this. We read God’s Word, and He “talks” with us through it, and we respond in prayer to Him about what He has said to us. As you go along, you will understand that there is no audible voice, but it comes through your thoughts; something will “pop” into your mind or when you read a scripture, it “pops” off the page at you and “speaks” directly to something that is on your mind. Remember, the Holy Spirit lives within you if you are a born again believer, and He speaks to us from our hearts. You will see that even after your quiet time with God is over, you may read something or someone may say something and it “speaks” to the issue you were discussing with God earlier in the day. There are all kinds of ways that God communicates with us, so, I encourage you to begin spending time with Him and begin to see for yourself just how wonderful a relationship with Him can be. May God richly bless you in this.