What Direction Are You Moving?
A very common question I hear is “how do I get closer to God?” I believe this is a universal question that everyone — teenager or adult, new to faith in Christ or long-time Christ-follower — asks from time to time.
How do we get to know the God of the universe? How do we learn to hear His voice? How do we grow into the people He created us to be? Each of these questions are simply versions of the central one. The good news is the answer is very straightforward. There are no secret handshakes you must learn, no special antennas you need to put on your roof and no codes you need to break.
The Bible lays it out very simply in James 4:8, where it says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” It sounds pretty simple and in many ways it is very simple, but then again, sometimes the simplest things in life can be the most challenging.
I believe it helps to think about this in terms of a relationship because, after all, we are talking about a relationship with God—not a set of religious rules and regulations that, if followed, make everything wonderful. Any relationship, if it is going to grow, requires time, communication and commitment. If you don’t give the relationship these three things, then you cannot expect it to grow.
When it comes to a relationship with God, we need to spend time with Him, talk to Him and be committed to His purposes. When we do these three things, He promises to do the same with us!
Anyone that is married or in a long-term relationship can pretty much tell you this list, but actually DOING the list is something entirely different. The question is not one of KNOWING what we should do when it comes to getting closer to our Father in heaven, it is one of PRACTICING what we already know.
If you are anything like me, I get distracted or lazy or busy or complacent, and before I know it the relationships in my life grow stale. I have to pick myself up, get back on the wagon and go back to doing the things that build my relationships.
The same thing goes for my relationship with God. At the beginning of the year, I’m excited and I rededicate myself to spending time with Him, reading His Word and getting around people that encourage me to do these things. But before I know it, I get busy and lazy and I find it has been several days since I last talked with Him and gave Him time to talk with me. So it’s time to get busy again doing the things that I need to do so that I can get closer to God.
How do we get to know the God of the universe? How do we learn to hear His voice? How do we grow into the people He created us to be? Each of these questions are simply versions of the central one. The good news is the answer is very straightforward. There are no secret handshakes you must learn, no special antennas you need to put on your roof and no codes you need to break.
The Bible lays it out very simply in James 4:8, where it says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” It sounds pretty simple and in many ways it is very simple, but then again, sometimes the simplest things in life can be the most challenging.
I believe it helps to think about this in terms of a relationship because, after all, we are talking about a relationship with God—not a set of religious rules and regulations that, if followed, make everything wonderful. Any relationship, if it is going to grow, requires time, communication and commitment. If you don’t give the relationship these three things, then you cannot expect it to grow.
When it comes to a relationship with God, we need to spend time with Him, talk to Him and be committed to His purposes. When we do these three things, He promises to do the same with us!
Anyone that is married or in a long-term relationship can pretty much tell you this list, but actually DOING the list is something entirely different. The question is not one of KNOWING what we should do when it comes to getting closer to our Father in heaven, it is one of PRACTICING what we already know.
If you are anything like me, I get distracted or lazy or busy or complacent, and before I know it the relationships in my life grow stale. I have to pick myself up, get back on the wagon and go back to doing the things that build my relationships.
The same thing goes for my relationship with God. At the beginning of the year, I’m excited and I rededicate myself to spending time with Him, reading His Word and getting around people that encourage me to do these things. But before I know it, I get busy and lazy and I find it has been several days since I last talked with Him and gave Him time to talk with me. So it’s time to get busy again doing the things that I need to do so that I can get closer to God.
What do you need to do? How long has it been since you gave God a chance to get close to you by getting close to Him? This weekend, the pastors in Kings County would love to encourage you to keep your relationship with your Heavenly Father growing and strong. Why don’t you take your family to church? I bet you’ll find that God takes a step towards you the moment you do.
posted by Andrew Cromwell at
7:31 AM
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