What does it take?!

Over the past few years of my intimacy with God, some friends have asked me “How do you do it?” “What does it take?” In those moments I reflect on when my personal relationship with God began in 2012. I had always been in church and participated in the many activities church folk sometimes get preoccupied with, but one day I finally decided “I want to take God more seriously. I want to experience His love and mercy as I’ve heard and read so much about”…. well this decision occurred after Jesus whispered to me on one sleepless night “I loved you so much that I died for you to have a relationship with me.” He literally tugged at my heart.

My desire for God blossomed; I literally googled topics, read blogs, and watched videos of sermons, while I participated in fellowship at church. Then God led me to buy certain books that were instrumental in opening my eyes to see just how He works. I used anything to help me increase in the knowledge of God. I was desperate and intentional about seeking God. During this process the bible became my favorite book, and the Holy Spirit began to reveal some mind blowing things to me.

I learned about what it takes to begin an intimate relationship with God and what it takes to maintain growth in that divine intimacy. Here’s a revelation I got. I recall it as often as I need to renew my mind.

Such an intimate relationship is impeccably SWEET! It provides clarity, peace, strength, and PERFECT LOVE.

In the book of Genesis 5 verse 21 I got to meet the first man who NEVER saw death….noooo not Elijah, his name was Enoch and the Bible testifies that he habitually, steadily walked in fellowship with God. Prior to his introduction, everyone else had a regular same old story, but Enoch, even though he didn’t get to live as long as the others, had the pleasure of never experiencing the displeasure of death.

Looking at his story I wondered, “Enoch knew God; he was in a close, habitual, and steady relationship with God. How come he didn’t get to live as long as the others?” And it struck me, there is nothing, not long life or material things, NOTHING that compares to enjoying a close fellowship with God. We hear it a lot in church “How deep, how wide, how high, how long is God’s love for us” or “Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.” Such an intimate relationship is impeccably SWEET! It provides clarity, peace, strength, and PERFECT LOVE.

Another great thing about experiencing and having a close, habitual, and STEADY (or unwavering) relationship with God is that we find favor with God. A great example is the greatest hero that ever lived…not Superman nor Batman but Noah. Genesis 6 reveals that after God was severely disgusted with the activities of the human race, Noah was chosen to remain alive to rescue the human race; verse 8 stated “But Noah found favor with the Lord,” verse 9 stated “… Noah was a righteous man…he walked in close relationship with God.” How incredible is it that Noah was spared from God’s anger and destruction because he walked in a steady, close relationship with God?!! There is POWER and PROTECTION in having a relationship with God! First Enoch now Noah, notice the trend?

Let me clear the air, we should never go into a relationship with God because of the benefits we could possibly receive; we should go into it ONLY with the desire to learn more about God and to live solely for Him. In doing this, all else will follow as Matthew 6:33 promises “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all other things will be added unto you.”

While reading about these 2 men, a new deep desire for intimacy with God erupted within me. I am writing this because God taught me more about us walking and STEADILY remaining in a relationship with Him. I would love to share this same knowledge with any and everyone who’d be interested.

Getting to know God, as I’ve come to learn, is like getting to know a best friend or a boyfriend. You make sacrifices to spend QUALITY time with Him. It is impossible to know God without desperately and deliberately setting all things aside to focus on Him. In other words…PUT GOD FIRST in everything. Once you do, I promise you will not be disappointed; He assures you Himself in Proverbs 8:17 KJV ” I love those who love me, and those that seek me early will find me.”

God desires to be loved as much as we desire to be loved; remember we were made in His image and likeness? So, imagine yourself yearning for some man or woman’s love, God desires you and yearns for you the same way, if not greater! He desires you to come back to your First love: Himself. I don’t have an extensive how-to-develop-a-relationship list; however, I can advice you to do the following that have helped me thus far.

#1 SURRENDER ALL: Tell God, once you are SURE you are ready, “I want to embark on this journey with You. I truly desire to know You and walk with You.” This is the greatest step to take.

#2 Get a Bible (preferably a version you best understand) and a notebook or journal. With this you can write out any “aha” verses and thoughts related to those verses you read. *begin with John 3:16*

#3 Set some quality time to spend alone in God’s presence. Find a room/place where you know you can give God your undivided attention. Prepare to read a part of the bible and ask for the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to see the mysteries within the Word.

#4 Pray about the tidbits and insights you’ve gained during your bible study time. The more you do these, the more comfortable you become with techniques that work best for you.

These steps have helped and still help me tremendously, I hope they help others as well.

Do what it takes to get to know your Maker…It’s worth every sacrifice!

Moyo


I’d like to provide an opportunity to those who are yet to meet with Jesus. If you have a deep desire to know Jesus and enter into the kingdom of God you are in great company. I did at some point in my life, and it was the greatest desire that God ever met! 

I invite you to pray the sinner’s prayer: Dear Jesus, I accept that I am a sinner and I confess my sins before you. I believe that you died for my sins and rose again to give me a new life.  I ask that you forgive me of my sins; cleanse me with your precious blood which you shed on the cross of Calvary. I accept you as my personal Lord and Savior. Fill me up with your Holy Spirit and strengthen me. I profess that I am a new creature; old things have passed away and I have become new in You. Thank You, Lord! In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

If you prayed the prayer, WELCOME TO THE KINGDOM FAMILY!! You are a new creature, the old has passed and the new is here! Be sure to find a bible believing, Spirit-led church in your city and purchase a bible in a version that you understand. I use the  New Living Translation, Message, Free Bible, Christian Standard Bible, or the New International Version. Enjoy the journey!

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