Good day
I trust you're doing well.
This will be the start of a new series about developing intimacy with God.
Most people have a desire to improve or make progress in certain areas of their lives, whether that be in their career, financially, marriage, parenting, health, etc. In the same manner, the Bible encourages us to do the same when it comes to our relationship with God.
Please see below scriptures:
2 Peter 1:1-11 NLT
This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Verse 10 and 11 in the Amplified Bible reads like this:
"Therefore, believers, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you [be sure that your behavior reflects and confirms your relationship with God]; for by doing these things [actively developing these virtues], you will never stumble [in your spiritual growth and will live a life that leads others away from sin]; for in this way entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly provided to you."
2 Timothy 2:15 NIV
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Philippians 3:12-14 NKJV
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 AMPC
Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours. Now every athlete who goes into training conducts himself temperately and restricts himself in all things. They do it to win a wreath that will soon wither, but we [do it to receive a crown of eternal blessedness] that cannot wither. Therefore I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary. But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].
1 Timothy 4:15-16 AMP
Practice and work hard on these things; be absorbed in them [completely occupied in your ministry], so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself [concentrate on your personal development] and to your teaching; persevere in these things [hold to them], for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.
(Romans chapter 12 also speaks to the above).
What stands out for me from these scriptures is that God desires to see me make progress in my relationship with Him. That I need to ensure that I'm diligent in the things God has called me to - diligent in my personal relationship with Him and diligent in the activities He has entrusted me with ... and the point I'd like to bring across here in relation to this series, is that we should never reach a point where we think that we've "arrived" or that there's nothing further to pursue with God. We should always be striving for more - wanting more, being more, doing more, experiencing more with God. It never stops - and it shouldn't stop.
So let's reflect:
So let's reflect:
- Have we reached a place where we've become comfortable in our relationship with God and just find ourselves going through the motions?
- Have our times of prayer, bible reading, church attendance, sharing our faith, etc. become just another activity or "tick box exercise?" ... has it maybe become a burden to do these things?
- Do we attend church, say what a great message it was, but can we honestly say that we've taken that message, implemented in our lives, and seen improvement in that area ... or was it just another good message that got immediately sent to the archive folder in our minds?
- What areas of our spiritual lives can we honestly say that we're working on or trusting God with?
- Are we even desiring to make progress in this area of our lives?
- Have we even asked Him to help us in this area or are we just content with where we find ourselves? Have we decided to settle, "set up camp", never thinking that we can become more than what we are right now ... can God not do more through me and for me than what I'm currently experiencing?
These are examples of some questions which allow us to self-reflect and should help us take on the right perspective towards making progress in our relationship with God. It's having this mindset that says enough is never enough - that there's more to achieve, accomplish, work towards, progress in. Yes we need to be understanding, be patient, stand in faith, etc... But we should never accept something as though it's just ok... And whilst it may lead to frustration at times and even discouragement... One still needs to maintain this attitude if we ever hope to have or become more than what we are or where we are right now.
Amen
Now if we're in a place where we say that we desire to experience more with God and make progress in our relationship with Him, the next question is, what does this look like? How can we ensure that we're on the right track? ... This will be covered in Part 2.