Why I ask all that will listen to, “Passionately Pursue a Relationship with Jesus”
The With part.
As you know, I tend to be a man of extremes. When I am goofy, I am really goofy, and when I am funny, I go at it with all I have and am focused on that. Of course, when I am serious, I am all business and will tend to get loud with my intensity and go on and on to make my point. My challenge usually has been to be ale to move from one to the other and back or to only be a 7 instead of a 10 on the scale.
This translates into my walk with God as well. I will lag behind Him and just be obedient to the easy stuff, but not walking in step with Jesus necessarily. I will then become motivated and will (metaphorically) zoom past God and be real passionate about Him, but running around doing what I THINK He wants me to do, or what I would want me to do if I were Him, which has really caused me to “step in it” a few times.
What I have done far to little of is walking WITH Him day by day and depending on Him to lead me moment by moment. You see, this takes patience and dependence to walk WITH Him instead of for Him.
Patience – This Fruit of the Spirit has been a key ingredient in many of the lives of those listed in the Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11)
* Noah had to wait for 120 years after God told him to build the Ark before it started to rain.
* Abraham had to wait over 20 years for God to provide the son that was promised.
* Joseph was given dreams and then was sold into slavery and put into prison for a decade before he saw God fulfill His promise.
* Moses spent 40 years as a shepherd while God prepared him for the job of freeing the Israelites, and then had to spend another 40 years wandering and leading a large and fickle nation of people.
* David was anointed King by Samuel and then had to run and hide from Saul for years.
* Samson had to wait in prison, blind, for his hair to grow out and for God’s Spirit to return before he could fulfill his calling as a Judge of Israel.
* Paul had to spend years after being called by Jesus before he was able to start his ministry.
From this list and my own experiences, it is not uncommon for God to ask you to walk with Him in obedience for a time before he provides you the opportunity to have an impact for Him. We must take God at His word when He tells us through Paul that “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6
Do not grow weary or tired of walking with Him when you don’t see those things that you want to see accomplished. God works on a different time-table than we do and He wants you “with” Him far more than He wants you off doing things you think He wants you to do.
Dependence – I know nothing about this part from personal experience, except for how to NOT be dependent. This is an area where God is currently teaching me about my failures. I am a capable, talented and resourceful person, and have always been able to figure things out and get things done so I have not been dependent on anyone during my life, not God, Mother, or friends for help and assistance and guidance … all to my own peril.
This is the epic battle between Pride vs Humility and it is a fight for control of our lives. The imagery in Psalm 40 is what I need to remember, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
There is nothing in these verses that speak of what David had done, except to understand his neediness and cry to God for deliverance. The idea that without God, I am nothing but stuck in a mud pit crying for help is one of dependence. I can accomplish many things in this life, make a lot of money, teach a lot of lessons and help a lot of people, but as long as they are done by my strength and my talents, they are only for my glory and not God’s. That is independence, and it is the ultimate arrogance. God wants us dependent on Him so that He gets the glory when something of worth is accomplished. See yourself accurately through the eyes of David and Psalms 40.
To sum this letter up, let me provide a recent, though rare, example of success. Through your growing years, I was not intentional in some areas as I should have been, so in these areas, I was walking behind/without God. Earlier this year, I felt Him challenging me to do something with/for you guys to that would impact your spiritual development. At this point, I am walking with Him. I set out my plan, but it does not go as I thought it might have, and my thoughts turned to, “What can I do to make this happen, since I know it would be pleasing to God.” This is the point where I run out in front of God and am not practicing patience nor dependence. While on a walk, I start to think about this post and God intervenes and says “Why don’t you pray for them that I would put it on their hearts, instead of you trying to make them want it.” I almost stopped right there and then as I was afraid I might step on my jaw, since it had just dropped to the sidewalk. THAT would be walking WITH God!!
Philippians 1:27, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. (Bold and Italics added)
Letters from a Fathers Heart 