‘The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.’ A.W. Tozer
It is in the drinking in of God’s word, that fills us with a thirst for more – to know Him and have an experience of Him:
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Ps. 63:1, 2. ESV
So, God makes a way, but we must dive into it. It is not enough to know God, to know Christ, to know the Holy Spirit, we must come to love them, through the building of relationship – which takes faith and time, just as it does between human beings.
But you have a leg up. First you know God by His word; and second, you can look within, knowing that many of the ways you think and feel are patterned after His ways (made in His image). It makes your communicative exchange with Him, up close and personal.
All of this comes to bear when you come to Christ for salvation. It opens the door of God’s availability; it begins the relationship:
“I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life… Jn. 14:6 AMP.
Many times, the search for God is protracted, but find Him you will. Scripture is thick with individuals who never gave up until they were able to enter His presence; and their rewards were many.
Once we have found Him, our quest becomes one to continue to stay in His presence, amid this wayward world. That’s where the ongoing study of the word and doing it, along with continuous worship and prayer, come into play. And in that endeavor, we leave any religiosity behind.
We cannot achieve this however, when our desire to seek after our God is weakhearted. Our Father wants our earnest efforts. Then, He’ll close the gap. And when that happens, our whole world opens up…
Adam and Eve were created with hearts where God took residence; their intimacy was complete. Yet, we know that they blew that relationship badly; and God, (I’m sure very reluctantly), moved out. After that, most people filled that heart vacancy with worldly possessions and pursuits. Thus, we have the fallen world:
“…the worries and cares of the world [the distractions of this age with its worldly pleasures], and the deceitfulness [and the false security of glamour] of wealth [or fame], and the passionate desires for all the other things creep in and choke out the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” Mk. 4:19 AMP
“…store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Mt. 6:20, 21. CSB
So, a worldly preoccupation chokes out Christ Himself. Again, what is the only way to the Father? That’s right, through His Son. Something has to give. We need to put Them front and center in our lives. After all, They are the greatest heavenly treasures. We get there by surrendering the things of the world.
Realizing that, we make our heart ready for Divine occupation, through earnest repentance for our material greed, and of the fear (faithlessness) that is at the root of it. We must receive God and His Son before we can feel their presence.
The remainder of our walk with God will be consist of similar choices. The devil will continually dangle his baubles before your eyes; and God will ask you from your heart, ‘Which will it be? The bauble or Me?’
Every time you choose God, you will be stronger, more joyful, content and peaceful as the distance between you and God closes, and your heart fills with His.
God created us for relationship with Him, walking with Him, talking with Him, loving with Him; and He remains positioned for that, regardless of how we may have fallen. Whatever sinful barriers we may have erected is annihilated when we embrace the blood of Christ. It is that same blood that keeps the door open to enter the presence of God, both in this life and the next.
He wants us to bask in His glory in every moment. This personal experience is waiting for everyone, and lives in the core of God’s desire for us having a relationship with Him of unfathomable depth. Like our Savior’s passion burned for our salvation, we must burn with an unquenchable fervor to be in God’s presence – in a timeless infinity that encompasses all things.
We can prepare for our experience with God by knowing His Son. After all, Christ is the incarnate presentation of His Father – flawless and faultless, changeless and timeless, loving and forgiving, all-knowing and all-powerful:
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you have known Him and have seen Him…He who has seen Me has seen the Father…” Jn. 14:7 & 9. NKJV
We know Jesus when our spirit melds with His, as we accept His salvation gift and continue to pursue His words and walk in His footsteps laid out in the Gospel, concurrently remaining open to an ongoing experience of communion with Him, knowing that we are communing with our God as well. In Jesus, we get to see the face of God – a privilege never made available to anyone:
“…He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” Ex. 33:20 NKJV
However, even though once you have received salvation and are a redeemed child of God, if you want to experience Him, you still must step up. If you hesitate, why? The only reasons are that you have not shed your self-centeredness or have not fully embraced His forgiveness for your sins. God has made you worthy for that encounter through His grace:
“I, only I, am He who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Is. 43:25 AMP
For His sake. God desires to have a real, personal, ongoing spiritual encounter with you. But it requires placing your full attention on Him.
We must suffer the death of our old selves and surrender ourselves to the drawing in of our Creator. He can be known. God is our Father.
To be continued…
Goodnight and God bless.