From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' -Acts 17:26-28 NIV
Let's look at this passage more closely.
God created us to fill the earth. He set us up to be in the timeline of history in which we are in today. He gave us areas of responsibilities. Where we are right now---the circle of friends we have, our families, our social network, where we live, where we work---all of these are strategically planned out by the Lord before we were even born. His eyes saw our unformed bodies and all the days of our lives. Everything that is appointed for us is written in His book before a single day of our lives ever came to be (Psalm 139:16).
He knows why we are where we are in this moment in time.
In the passage quoted above from the book of Acts, it is said that God did this so we would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him. This is God extending His hand towards us, and He is waiting for us to reach out to Him too.
It is no secret that life is not all smooth sailing. We have good times and we have bad times. Not all of our spheres of influence are walks in the park. God allows these things so that we would perhaps consider seeking Him out.
Is God insecure? Absolutely not. He's all powerful. He's Almighty. He is power, strength and majesty all together. He is also love (1 John 4:8).
Andrew Murray explains that, "Because God is love, He must have some worthy object on whom His love can rest, in whose fellowship His love can find its blessedness."
That worthy object is you. It's me. It's us, His people who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.
If God is reaching out to us, how do we reach out to Him?
Ephesians 3:12 says that, "In him [Jesus] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence."
When speaking of freedom and confidence, it simply means to come to God as you are.
When you approach God and begin to cultivate a relationship with Him, do so with no mumbo jumbo and no drama. Be yourself.
God made you unique and He expects you to come to Him as He created you and not as someone you're not. You don't have to put on a facade before Him because He loves and accepts the person you are and it doesn't matter where you've been or what you've done in life. Facades may work with people, but it does not work with God. He already knows you inside out.
Pray to Him as you are. Worship Him as you are. Have communion with Him as you are.
The difference between prayer, worship and communion is that prayer and worship fall into the 'formal' category. These are the times when we come to Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords that He is. Communion is the 'casual' way, for the lack of a better word, to come to Him.
We see an example of a communion in Genesis 3:8-13.
God called out to Adam, "Where are you?"
Adam answered, "I hid when I heard you. I was afraid because I was naked."
"Who told you that you were naked?"
Adam then proceeds to tell the Lord what happened.
The conversation goes on in a language that would be considered informal when you're talking to a king. God is a King, but He's also a Father. Fathers are friends to their children and the Lord speaks in this way, too.
O my darling, lingering in the gardens, your companions are fortunate to hear your voice. Let me hear it, too! -Song of Songs 8:13 NLT
If the one you love is with you in a room full of people, there's a difference in your heart when you hear his voice speaking to another person compared to when he's speaking to you, am I right? To others, it's like, "Yeah, he's around." But when he speaks to you, your heart flutters. It's the same with God. He's omnipresent and He always hears us, but He wants to hear us specifically speaking to Him. It pleases the Lord when we do so.
"But what do I say to him?" You may wonder. Well, what would you say to your closest friend?
When I wake up in the morning, the first words that come out of my mouth are, "Good morning, Lord." I greet Him just as I would greet my dad or people at work. I engage in simple ways to commune with the Lord like telling Him how my day was, what I did, where I went, what I accomplished, what I'm doing at the moment, and other things as well. It's like praying minus the requests.
The exciting thing is, when we start talking, He answers back and communication takes place.
You can be a mighty man or woman of God in the eyes of peopl; but, not have a relationship with the Lord.
To know the Lord and to become friends with Him is more important than work. Our relationship with Him is the foundation of what He can do through us.
On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's law.' -Matthew 7:22-23 NLT
Knew in this passage does not pertain to head knowledge. It entails a deeper, more intimate kind of knowing as in the following verse.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord." -Genesis 4:1 ESV
God calls for intimacy and it is up to us whether we answer or not.
This knowing results in oneness like how a husband becomes one with his wife. One adopts the traits of the other and an exchange takes place.
In our case, as we become more intimate and one with the Lord, we adopt His character. A transference happens wherein He takes away our old sinful nature and replaces it with His godly nature.
Moses was friends with the Lord. The rest of the Israelites were not. They just did whatever Moses heard from God.
One day, God was furious with the Israelites and He was pondering on wiping them all out.
The Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they (Deuteronomy 9:13-14 NIV)."
Think about it. Moses was the sole person that God wanted to spare from judgment. Moreover, Moses was the only man who knew about what God was planning to do, so he was able to prevent a terrible fate for Israel by standing in the gap for them.
The point is, relationship is important.
You, as a person, will never hurt the people who are close to your heart. The first person you share with, either news or material things, whatever it is, is your closest friend. You protect your friend.
Is not the phrase 'your friends are my friends; and your enemies are my enemies' common in our close circles? Is this not reality?
You're not alarmed when something bad happens to a stranger, but you move when your friend is in trouble. You don't stay put. Why? Because it's your friend that we're talking about!
Now, if this is how it is with us people, don't you think that God can be more?
Yes, the Lord can be more through Jesus Christ; but, the requirements to have His friendship is just the same as the ones we go through with people.
Start talking. Then listen. Repeat.
It's alright to start with small talk. Eventually, small talk will evolve to something more. Baby steps are OK.
Here's a suggestion: when you wake up the next morning and before you greet anyone else, say, "Good morning, Lord." Start with that, then let it flourish.
God is faithful to respond and when He does and you pursue Him, you'll experience a relationship unlike any other.
