Towards a mature relationship with God - Part 3


TOWARDS A MATURE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – PART 3

Mario D’Couto

            The situations that will stretch your faith most will be those times when life falls apart and God is nowhere to be found. This happened to Job. On a single day, he lost everything – his family, his business, his health and everything he owned. Most discouraging – for 37 chapters, God said nothing!

            So how do we praise God when we don’t understand what’s happening in our lives and God is silent? How do we stay connected in a crisis without communication? How do we keep our eyes on Jesus when they are full of tears? We need to do what Job did,

“Then he fell to the ground in worship and said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The lord gave and the Lod has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:20-21)
            Apart from that, there are some other things to be kept in mind,

1)    Did you know that admitting your hopelessness to God can be a statement of faith? Trusting God but feeling despair at the same time, David wrote, “I believed, so I said, ‘I am completely ruined!’” (Psalm 116:10) In saying that we trust God but also saying that we are wiped out could seem a bit contradictory, but the truth is David’s frankness actually reveals deep faith. First, he believed in God. Second, he believed God would listen to his prayers. Third, he believed God would let him say what he felt and still love him. David, despite his many faults and failings, was honest and open and perhaps that could be the reason why David was known as a ‘man after God’s own heart’.

2)      It is important to focus on God’s unchanging nature. When Job’s life fell apart and God was silent, Job sill found things he could praise God for,

Ø  That He is good and loving (Job 10:12)
Ø  That He is all – powerful (Job 42:2; 37:5; 2:3)
Ø  That He notices every detail of my life (Job 23:10, 31:4)
Ø  That He is in control (Job 34:13)
Ø  That He is a plan for my life (Job 23:14)
Ø  That He will save me (Job 11:23)

3)      Trust God to keep His promises. During times of spiritual dryness, you must patiently rely on the promises of God, not your emotions and realize that he is taking you to a deeper level of maturity. A friendship based on emotion is shallow.

                 The important thing is not to be troubled by troubles. Circumstances cannot change the character of God. God’s grace is still in full force; He is still FOR YOU, even when you don’t feel it. In the absence of confirming circumstances, Job held on to God’s Word. He said, “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread” (Job 23:12).
            
                      This trust in God’s Word caused Job to remain faithful even though nothing made sense. His faith was strong in the midst of pain, “God may kill me, but still I will trust Him” (Job 13:15)

                      When you feel abandoned by God and yet continue to trust Him inspite of your feelings, you worship Him in the deepest way.

4)      Remember what God has already done for you. If you were to think that God did not do anything for you, nonetheless, He would still deserve your continual praise for the rest of your life because of what Jesus did for you on the Cross. God’s son died for you! This is the greatest reason for worship.

                       As Jesus took all of humankind’s sin and guilt on Himself, God looked away from that ugly sight and Jesus cried out in total desperation, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” Jesus could have saved Himself – but then He could not have saved you.

                         Words cannot describe the darkness of that moment. Why did God allow and endure such ghastly, evil mistreatment? Why? So you could be spared from eternity in Hell and that you could share in His glory forever! The Bible says, “Christ was without sin but for our sake God made Him share our sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
                       
                       Jesus gave up everything, so you could have everything. He died so you could live forever. That alone is worthy of your continual thanks and praise. Never again should you wonder what you have to be thankful for. 

With all this being said, there is yet another dimension towards understanding what it means to have a mature relationship with God which is what we are going to examine in the next section.

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