Starting a relationship with God (Part 2 of 2)

As I said in part one of this series, a relationship with God is going to take time, trust, and communication; it'll also take commitment. As in other relationships, there must be effort put forth, along with the time and trust. You must seek God, not just attempt to talk to Him one time. A relationship cannot thrive on one or two conversations, but you must be open to God. Put aside all preconceived notions and assumptions, and get to know God for yourself. For me, it was easier to get to know God once I found out how much He really loved me. Who would want to get to know a condemning and judgemental God? Or a God of wrath? That would be terrifying. Although it is true that God is the ultimate Judge, He is also Holy, and a God of righteousness. A God filled with love, compassion, kindness, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and patience, and He desires to love us and help us, not condemn us to hell. The Bible says, The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). I have learned this, and I hope you will too. Since then, I have had no regrets accepting Christ. I've actually had more gratitude. The more I get to know God, the more thankful I am. So I deeply encourage you to get to know God and His character, whether you are already a believer, or not. Let's continue on with how I started and built my relationship with God. I was led to read the four gospels. After reading them, I was in awe of Jesus. I adored Him. I could relate to Him, and felt his love, mercy, and compassion. I thought to myself, if Jesus was the Son of God, and reflects the Father, then God couldn't be as scary as I thought. Soon I was reading the Old Testament, and learning about the Israelites (praying before reading for wisdom and understanding). Through reading the Old Testament, I got to know God, His Character, what made Him angry, and even what made Him sad. God was righteous in His anger. I was also angry with the Israelites, then soon saw how similar we were to them. Pretty soon, God became this beautiful, powerful being, and His characteristics amazed me. I began to revere God, and felt His love and acceptance for me. He wasn't as far as I thought He was. It was reading the Old Testament, where I truly opened myself up to God the Father. He wasn't scary anymore. I feared Him, but it was a healthy fear, a fear of reverence. I also prayed daily, and listened to sermons to help me further understand the Bible.  I continued to read the Bible because I couldn't get enough. When I would read the Bible, I would open it, and the first verse my eyes fell on, would speak directly to my heart and/or circumstances. I knew God was speaking to me. He spoke to me a lot in my first 2-3 years. His Word does say, if you seek you will find (Luke 11:9). Before reading, I would pray and ask for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and God faithfully answered my prayers. The Word of God would fill me up, and things would make sense to me. God would show me things that I never knew of or considered before. He was showing me meaning and revelations; when reading, I could see between the lines. It was like my eyes were opened and all of a sudden, I had a new perspective. I was looking out of different eyes, or from a different window. God knew me, but now I was beginning to know God--my Creator. That helped me to be more real with God, more open, and more direct. When we grow deeper into relationship, we get into a phase where we are comfortable saying things. Now, I could be honest and vulnerable with God.

Let me give you an example. I will always remember this day, though not the entire circumstance. I was reading the Bible, listening to sermons, worshiping God through prayer, quiet time, and through songs. I felt so right with God...but then an incident happened and I got extremely angry. I don't remember what had happened, but I do remember turning away from God. I felt so unholy in my anger, and couldn't face God with those emotions, thoughts, and attitude. I said to God, I'm so angry right now, just let me be and when I am fine again, I'll come back and talk to you. I'm not worthy to be in your presence right now! I felt like God put His arms around me and said, Pam, I want to be with you always, in every circumstance. When you are happy, when you are angry, when you are sad, when you are mad, when you are frustrated, or when you're smiling. He comforted me, and showed me that I didn't have to be Holy or Perfect to speak with Him.

To this day, I am still working on growing my relationship with God. There are still a million things I don't know about Him, but I am no longer afraid of Him. He speaks to me through His Word and Holy Spirit, and I am thankful to have a relationship with Him. I am not telling you that you need to do everything like me, but I want to give you simple and practical tips or ideas of how you can get to know God. I didn't always have a relationship with God, before He was this far off being, a stranger and just someone I knew of. I revered Him, but it was like He was the President of the U.S. who had no reason to know of my existence. Now He is my Father, and friend (if you'd like to know how I gave my life to Christ, you can read Giving my Life to Christ).  My desire for you is that you get to know God on a deeper level, so that you can confide in Him, and go to Him for anything and everything. However, relationships take time, commitment, communication, and trust. God really does care about you, and He cares about what you care about. God says in Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. I will say it again, no one knows us better than God the Father, but best of all, no one loves us more than the Father. No one.

Now let us pray.

Heavenly Father, Ruler of the Universe,

I praise you and give you all the glory. You are so wonderful, I delight in You! I also thank you for the continuation of this message and for all the readers. My prayer is that the readers will accept your gift of salvation, and if they already are believers, that they will grow more in You. Please be with them, and speak to them through the Bible as they seek You. Give them wisdom and understanding. Renew their minds, and break off the scales and anything else hindering them from knowing You. Cleanse them of their sins, and let Your Mighty Will be done in their lives. Your timing is perfect! You are a miraculous God who heals, protects, helps, intervenes. You also hold all power, wisdom, and time. You know all things and are forever faithful and loving. Thank You Lord for everything. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Prayerfully,

Pam