Building our relationship with God

How are we building our relationship with God? That is a question I have heard over the years and one I thought to delve into today.

The most important and life-changing relationship that we will ever have as Christian women, is the one we have with God. It is one that not only determines the sort of life we live here on earth but for eternity.

Yet, it is usually overlooked. We may do this consciously or unconsciously. We may excuse our behaviour because we feel God will understand, after all, he is a loving and forgiving father who promises to never leave nor forsake us.

Do you know the truth? God doesn’t need us. He really doesn’t.

He wants us close to him but he doesn’t need us to achieve his purpose on earth, to be praised or to do his signs and wonders.

Anytime I think about the magnitude of God’s love, it is truly humbling. Can you imagine that he craves a relationship with us?

The one who made us wants us with him but we refuse and cling to the things of this world, to the riches, the glamour and all the other things we put ahead of him. For many of us, it could be our spouses, our children, career, voluntary work and even our ministry.

 

With a Convicted Heart

Are we building our relationship with God or just going about our individual ministries the best way we know how?

This is a question I have had to ask myself particularly after reading several convicting posts about managing the Christian ministry for Christian bloggers and writers. It has been a wake-up call for me.

In our haste to do what we believe to be God’s will, we may end up creating an idol and forget the one who purposed this ministry in our hearts.

In those extreme moments of happiness or sorrow, we may forget the one who promised to make all things work for our good as we love and honour him with our lives.

I write from a place of brokenness, I have been walking away from my first love, from the one who told me that I matter even when I felt like a failure and very weak. I have been making excuses for little or no devotion time, for my busyness, claiming that I am writing for the propagation of God’s Kingdom, one woman at a time.

But what will it profit me if I gain these things and lose the one thing that matters most? What would be the point of it all, if I chase after my own ‘glory’, my own fame, my own ministry, my own success, and forget that it should always be about HIM and not me?

That’s scary!

 

The subtle decline

I have found that for the born again Christian, the wiles of the evil one are different. He will not come at you with the usuals: lying, stealing, fornication, promiscuity but with the more subtle ones; pride, busyness, distractions, and magnifying the place of other relationships.

With these, it’s harder to detect what you’re doing wrong. I appreciate how Garrett Kell confesses that while he wanted to glorify Jesus, he also wanted a bit of that glory too.

I totally understand this. When people tell me, my posts or words really helped and encouraged them, I’m glad but a part of me also revels in what I achieved until my sinful heart reminds me that it is not about me, God merely used me as a messenger.

He didn’t need me to say those words. He could have used another, and even inanimate objects.

It is only by HIS grace and as a sign of his love that he found me worthy.

 

Why we should be building our relationship with God

1. We were created to love and commune with our maker.

God sought to make man in his image and likeness. Genesis 1:26. The original plan was to have eternal fellowship with man. We all know what happened thereafter but our lord and saviour, Jesus Christ redeemed us. I believe strongly that we will never find peace and true belonging until we grow and nurture this relationship. This is our ultimate PURPOSE.

 

2. To grow our other relationships, the right way

“You shall have no other God’s before me”. Exodus 20:3 This is the first commandment and expectedly so. God first and all others, next.

God didn’t say we should not love others or share our time and resources with them. No, he says we should start with him first. This helps us put our other relationships in perspective. Any relationship which is taking us away from God is not only faulty but dangerous.

 

3. To understand God’s will and purpose for our lives

To each, he has given a calling, a purpose and a plan and we can only access these when we know him, hear from him and obey his direction.

“And we know that in all things God works for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28(NIV)

 

4. To key into God’s promises

The Bible is filled with God’s promises to his children. These are words of comfort to those who put their trust and hope in him.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29.11 (ESV)

He goes on to say we will seek him and find him when we seek him with all our heart. Jeremiah 29:13

 

5. To flourish

Growing and nurturing this relationship will lead to a grace-filled, favour full and outstanding life.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…but his delight is in the law of the Lord… he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields fruit in its due season…” Psalm 1:1-3 (ESV).

 

How to Grow our Relationship with God

My dear sister, are you currently in a rut, have you forgotten your first love or let the cares of the world distract you from what really matters?

I believe God is calling us to rededicate our lives and live wholly for him.

We need to start by: 

1. Setting out time to spend with him, this could be through prayer, praise and worship
2. Delighting in his words. The Bible is a great way to know God, to unravel the mysteries of his preeminence and his great works.
3. Meditate on his words, day and night. Deepening the relationship means meditating on his words, understanding the knowledge hidden within and acting in obedience to his word. Here’s a post on living your life with God’s plans coming first.

Are you ready?