Building a Relationship with God

 

Building a Relationship with God. This is something I think I can safely say we all desire, but a question remains—how do we go about it? How do we make sure we are on the right track to have a successful outcome?

There is an unspoken rule that works wonders, in every area of our lives to which we apply it, including this one: “To be effective at whatever it is we are trying to do, we must first educate ourselves on the “why” (the purpose), and the “how” (the process), and then based on that knowledge, develop a course of action to accomplish our goal.” This, regarding building a relationship with God, is what I would like to focus on today.

The “Why”

God did not create mankind to always be alone. Instead, He instilled in them a desire to have relationships with others—to be a part of something bigger than themselves. This desire when utilized properly, is a powerful motivator and wonderful blessing that has all kinds of benefits. As Eccl. 4:9-12 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. ¹⁰ For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. ¹¹ Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? ¹² Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

The reason God created mankind in the first place is that He also desires to have a relationship with us—to expand His family. Whether mankind will acknowledge it or not, we have an insatiable need and desire for our Creator. People spend their whole lives searching for something to fill that need. They pursue fame and popularity, possessions and wealth, they worship gods they made with their own hands, or worship and serve the creation… but the Creator, the one who could fill that need, they do not seek.

Brethren, our calling that God has graciously bestowed upon us even though we are undeserving of it, is an invitation to have a relationship with Him! This invitation is precious and more valuable than anything on this earth. As king David said in Ps. 63:3 “Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.” Accepting this invitation seems like a no-brainer, but there is a catch…

The “How”

In order to have a close and lasting relationship with someone, we must have common ground to build that relationship on. You cannot have a close relationship with someone that does not share your values or long term goals. As the saying goes: “A bird may love a fish but where would they build a home together?” – Joseph Stein.

The same is true between God and us. Before we can become part of His family dwelling in His presence, we must become like Him. Since God is already perfect in every way and is unchanging as Heb. 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” any changes that must take place for us to be in the same image as our Creator must take place within us. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). This takes hard work and effort, making it difficult for people who don’t understand its value to accept this invitation.

For those of us who do recognize the value and greatly desire it, how do we go about building that relationship?

The Course of Action

God has created us in a world that demands a lot of our very limited time. We have sleeping, eating, working, building relationships with others, hobbies and enjoying the blessings God has given us. All of this is by God’s design in order to force us to prioritize the things that are most important. As king Solomon acknowledged in Eccl. 3:10  “I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.” With our busy lives, will we choose to put Him first above our own wants and desires?

How do we put God first? The answer— we spend time with Him by studying His Word, which is listening to and receiving instruction from Him. We also spend time with Him in prayer, which is our chance to talk to Him. In any healthy and lasting relationship, communication both ways is essential. What if someone you wanted to have a close relationship with would only talk about themselves and would never listen to or try to get to know you?  Do we do the same thing to God—praying to Him about ourselves, our problems, and our desires—but never listening to Him by studying His Word?

It is through studying His Word that we learn about our King and His character. Remembering the goal of becoming like Him, we now have a clearer image of what we are trying to become. We have a guide to follow.

We don’t have the ability to spend all of our time in study and prayer, but we do have the ability to make God a part of everything we do, by applying what we learned through studying to the rest of our day.

In Deut. 11:18-19 God commanded the children of Israel saying: “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ¹⁹ You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

Also, in Josh. 1:8 we read, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

We can see this attitude with King David, (who has a testimony from God as being a man after His own heart—Acts 13:22), when he wrote in Ps. 63:1-8, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. ² So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. ³ Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. ⁴ Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. ⁵ My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. ⁶ When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. ⁷ Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. ⁸ My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.”

We also read in Ps. 119:14-16 “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. ¹⁵ I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. ¹⁶ I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.”

This attitude towards God and His Word is what we should all strive for as we also seek to have the testimony from God as being someone after His own heart.

With this goal in mind let’s constantly be asking ourselves— are our thoughts and actions reflecting God’s character and way of life?

Areas to consider would be:

• our speech
• our behavior
• how we treat others
• the people we surround ourselves with
• the quality of work that we offer at our job
• what we do for entertainment such as the music we listen to
• the movies we watch
• the books we read
• the games we play
• or whatever our hobbies might be

God’s Word is living and powerful and when we make it the primary focus in our lives, it changes us, drawing us closer to Him by molding and shaping us into the same image as our King and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Phil. 4:8).