How close can you get to God? (Part 1)

I believe one of the greatest tragedies in life is to have been born but never to have fulfilled your God-given potential. This Lenten season, I've been praying like never before that God would remove anything that would stop me from fulfilling the purpose and passion that God has called me to. The very thing that we aren't willing to surrender and sacrifice could be the very thing that is stopping us from openly getting close to God. It is only when we are willing to wrestle and deal with some of the stuff in our lives that we can fully get close to God. I challenge you and myself to constantly be asking the question: "God, how close can I get to you?"

 

TAKE COURAGE

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the purpose and plans I have for you,' says the Lord." God has already laid out an awesome plan of prosperity, an awesome plan of hope in our lives, but I believe that it is the lack of courage that stops so many people from achieving and receiving this great plan that God has for them. So many dreams have been distorted, so many visions have never been achieved, because of the lack of courage. Anyone who has ever done anything great for God has possessed great courage.

 

Courage is needed to achieve something that is impossible to achieve by yourself. I believe, in order to achieve big dreams, we need to have a big God and, in order to get to a big God, now more than ever before, you need to have big courage. Make sure your dreams are big enough so that God can fit in.

 

Even though Peter and the disciples were faced with an impossible predicament, Peter was the only one who had the courage to step out, to get close to God. Throughout his life, Peter was the only guy who was willing to try anything, at least one time. I believe Peter had a Type A personality. Peter was high-strung, always on the edge, always stressed out; but, he was always driven to do something crazy for God. Decisions that Peter made were always made with his heart, not with his head. He would usually act on his passion and think about the consequences later. Like cutting somebody's ear off—he didn't even think about that–only later did he think about it, after the ear was already on the ground. Peter always acted out of passion, acted out of the movement of his heart, and thought about it later. Even though Peter was very impulsive, the one thing that Peter had was courage.

 

I believe courage, coupled with risk and vulnerability, is the essence to intimacy. Courage is the thing we need first to get close to God. In order for us to be intimate with God right now, God wants us to have courage to fulfill the promise to which he has called us. Are you willing to take a risk? You can only have courage and be willing to become what God has called you to be if you are willing to face your fears.

 

You must understand that nothing that God has called us to will ever be easy. You have to have courage to face the problems, even in the midst of your fears. Too often, we get right to the point of a highlight or pinnacle in our lives—like receiving a major miracle—only to see that miracle slip through our hands because of the lack of courage. Have you been to a place in your life when you realized the miracle was right around the corner? But, not having enough courage, you allowed the miracle to slip right through your hands?

 

Peter proved that in order to get closer to God, you have to have courage to step out and be willing to walk on water. To walk on water doesn't mean you literally have to get out of the boat and walk on water. (Don't try that at home!) But to walk on water means to step out of our comfort zones and to step out on faith in the midst of our greatest fears. In order to be a water-walker you have to have enough courage to believe that God will sustain you even in periods of the unknown. To be a water-walker you have to have courage, you have to trust that God will support you in those moments of uncertainty.

 

In order to get close to God, you have to be willing to take a risk. You have to be willing to step out in faith, even in the midst of your greatest fears.

 

Excerpted from: HOW CLOSE CAN I GET TO GOD? by Mike Bowie (article for March 6th, 2005)

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