Are You Busy For God Or
Do You Have A Relationship With God?
Building A Relationship With God
Building Your Faith
“Now faith is the essence of things being hoped, the evidence of things not
having been seen.” (LITV, Hebrews 11:1) Faith
is a process of belief. Do not expect anything
unless you are willing to go through this process. Think about it. You have a friend. This is someone you know and trust. Where does that trust in your friendship come
from? Trust and even the friendship
itself comes from faith. Faith is the cement in all relationships. Your relationship with God is the most
important relationship that you have or ever will have. Seek Him to have a life of happiness. This often involves doing things you may not
feel like doing like praying, going to church, read your Bible, working on your
marriage and family life. Your flesh doesn’t always feel like doing what your
mind knows it needs to do. Do whatever
you have to do to because the success of your life depends on it.
People of faith, many who lost their
lives saw God’s promises in their hearts, but did not live to see it, yet God’s
promises did come. How blessed we are so
many times to see the promises and life that we receive from God by living for
God. Christians all over the world put
their lives at some risk by observing God commands. In some places, Christians
risk losing everything for Christ. In the
In a
family, life is a team effort. The husband
and wife must work together to succeed in marriage. For example, when you have trouble in your
marriage, one part of the couple cannot make all the effort. Both partners are required for success. This is a process that must be gone through
in order for success to be possible. In
a similar way, each level in our spiritual life involves a process. The success of your life depends on whether
you maintain your stand for God. “By
faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac. The man who had received the
promises was about to offer his unique son, about whom it had been said,
"It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you." He was certain that God could raise people
from the dead, and figuratively speaking he did get him back in this way.” (ISV, Heb 11:17-19) Abraham’s faith involved commitment on
Abraham’s part and your faith will require commitment on your part. Commitment to God is not automatic. Abraham
stood for what was right, realizing that God could resurrect his son that was
promised as heir to vast peoples. (Gen
15:5) In fact, you are part of Abraham’s
reward whether you are directly related or grafted into God’s spiritual
family. As you demonstrate your faith,
God sees this and blesses your efforts.
However, If you
seek God for things instead of relationship, you have missed out. Here is another place where Christians often
miss the point. The point of being a
Christian or even of having a friend is the relationship. A relationship can be based on many things,
but unless it is based on relationship, it is doomed to fail. You can see the point. Seeking only for things does not get a
relationship and does not build devotion or your faith in God. Your goal is to be in harmony with God’s
spirit and then to allow God to work through you. Then, as part of that relationship and
allowing God to work through you, you need to know what God wants. While reading and knowing what scripture says
is key to that, hearing God in your life is the key to
living your life successfully with God. God
will never tell you to do anything that goes against His Word. God has spoken to mankind since the beginning
of man and He still speaks to each one of us, even you. You just have to learn to hear Him. You simply have to be still (rest in Him) long
enough to hear him. When you hear God,
you avoid confusion in your life. You
are not productive in your spiritual relationship without God. “All these people won approval for their
faith but did not receive what was promised” (ISV, Heb.11:39) To receive what God wants
in your life, you need to be productive.
Faith comes from hearing and our faith is
rewarded. Let’s go back to Hebrews 11:6
and read in the International Standard Version, “Now without faith it is
impossible to please God, for the one who comes to Him must believe that He
exists and that He rewards those who diligently search for Him.” Why would anyone want to seek God? Perhaps you believe that there is someone greater
out there than you are. To be successful as a Christian, the right
attitude and understanding is everything.
The actuality is that whether you know it or not, you need God for
everything in your life. You can ignore
Him and He may not be able to bless you fully, but He does not want to ignore
you. The truth is that He wants you to
have a real relationship, real intimacy with Him. He knows everything about you and loves you,
but you don’t know everything about Him.
The way that you get to learn about God is through scripture. When you believe that He exists, you put
yourself into a position to receive from Him within the working of His
Will. Once again, the Bible tells you
what His Will is. When I first began
serving the Lord, I sought after God to meet my material needs. As my understanding, appreciation and
relationship grew, God became much more.
I soon discovered that He meets all of my needs and that He was
responsible for my success in life. I
began to realize that He actually had a purpose for me and that He actually
rewarded me for listening to Him. You
see, God needs people who will listen to Him.
However, God doesn’t want you just to do things for Him, running around
busily in an effort to redeem yourself.
The scriptural of account of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42 shows what
is most important in your walk with God.
Martha was very busy and concerned, looking after every little detail,
even fretting after things when she needed to be sitting still and enjoying the
opportunity for good company. Mary, on
the other hand, sat at the feet of Jesus and listened. She wanted more than to run around and worry
about whether things around them were just right and whether others needs were
being met at that moment. Being
constantly busy and being consumed with pleasing others is exactly why so many
Christians are lost. The church is full
of “Marthas”, those who work hard, are diligent,
detail-oriented and want others to do as they do. Martha was confident in her ability to do
things for others and became a slave to duty.
She had lost the point of what she was doing and could not rest. On the other hand, Mary wanted to enjoy a
relationship with Jesus and wanted to hear what he had to say. She wanted to share in conversation and enjoy
fellowship. She wasn’t focused on everything
around them being “just so”. Please keep
in mind that Jesus didn’t ask anyone to busy themselves in service to him. He wanted to develop relationships, just as
he demonstrated with Mary and Martha and throughout his ministry. By learning about God and allowing Him to
work through you and in you, you will find that unwittingly, blessings will
overcome you and His presence will bless you and move you to bless others as
you continue to seek Him in relationship.
You must have an attitude of success in the Lord. God is behind you and you know you are
victorious when you follow the call on your life. God wants you to be willing to step out in
faith and be willing to do what He places on your heart. God
blesses those who listen.
“Young lions on the prowl get hungry, but
GOD-seekers are full of God.” (MSG, Psalm 34:9-10) When you seek God, you lack no good
thing. You have daily contact with Him
and you are rewarded when you have the mindset that rewards motivate you to do
things with the Lord. You and I need the
mindset of David. “"Master,"
said David, "don't give up hope. I'm ready to go and fight this
Philistine." Saul answered David, "You can't go and fight this
Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced--and he's been at this fighting
business since before you were born." David said, "I've been a
shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a
lamb from the flock, I'd go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it
turned on me, I'd grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or
bear, it made no difference--I killed it. And I'll do the same to this
Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. GOD, who delivered me
from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this
Philistine.” (MSG, 1 Samuel 17:32-37) David
wasn’t concerned with his youth or what others considered his
inexperience. He could do what was
necessary with God’s help. The King was
willing to give great things to get rid of the Philistine. Saul doubted because David was a boy and
Goliath was an experienced fighter.
David was confident. He killed
lions and bears as a shepherd protecting his sheep. He clearly trusted God to help him get rid of
the Philistine as he had killed the wild animals. He saw Goliath no differently. David could not depend on Saul’s armor
because it didn’t fit him…in fact, he couldn’t fight in it. Saul’s mighty armor didn’t work for David, so
he cast it off. David gathered his
staff, a sling and five smooth stones and took care of the problem. He was confident in his relationship with God
and had a mindset of success. David received great wealth, a wife and freedom
from taxes for his family using his faith and five smooth stones against a
giant who had all the equipment to take David out and a lifetime of
experience. We don’t need a lot of
equipment to serve God. We just need God
and our faith because of our close relationship with Him. David’s attitude of success was key to accessing God’s power. You have the same power. All that is required is that you believe in
Your Father and receive His Power. God blesses those who act in faith.
Elijah had a similar experience in a huge
drought, which was causing great famine and Elijah’s life was a risk. He had to be able to hear God to know to go
to a certain widow in Zarephath. And why Zarephath? Likely because no widow in
God’s body of believers (then the Jews) was willing or capable to believe in
God’s ability to provide in such a way.
God knows about such things and will send you in the right direction,
even when it might not seem to make much sense.
“Then GOD spoke to him: "Get up and go to Zarephath
in
Later on the woman's son became sick. The sickness took a turn for
the worse--and then he stopped breathing. The woman said to Elijah, "Why
did you ever show up here in the first place--a holy man barging in, exposing
my sins, and killing my son?" Elijah
said, "Hand me your son." He then took him from her bosom, carried
him up to the loft where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he
prayed, "O GOD, my God, why have you brought this terrible thing on this
widow who has opened her home to me? Why have you killed her son?" Three
times he stretched himself out full-length on the boy, praying with all his
might, "GOD, my God, put breath back into this boy's body!" GOD
listened to Elijah's prayer and put breath back into his body--he was alive! Elijah
picked the boy up, carried him downstairs from the loft, and gave him to his
mother. "Here's your son," said Elijah, "alive!" The woman said to Elijah, "I see it all
now--you are a holy man. When you speak, GOD speaks--a true word!" (MSG, 1
Kings 17:17-24) God provides for those who follow his instructions and believe.
When Elijah first met the widow, he had confidence in God’s
provision and shared that with the widow.
The widow believed him and quite honestly, considering her situation had
nothing to lose. Both Elijah, the widow
and her son were blessed with daily sustenance for a long time. The jars of oil and flour never ran out and
she always had increase. The widow had
accepted God’s promise in her poverty and was blessed with increase and the
ability to survive the famine. Later,
when the widow’s son died, the widow challenged Elijah about the death of her
son and God’s provision. I believe that
based on what she had witnessed, she believed the something could be done and
put it squarely to Elijah. In this case,
their faith was put to the test. Elijah,
as the experienced holy man of God, knew that by approaching God, that the
widow’s son could be saved. Elijah
carried the boy to his loft. Elijah had
to persist in prayer. He did not relent and the boy was restored to life. The point is that Elijah had to persist. Even to Elijah, it was not automatic. Scripture does not say how long it took, but
Elijah did not let up until the boy was revived. Then, Elijah could present the boy
alive. They were in God’s victory and
were rewarded by faith and persistence!
The scriptural passage in 1 Kings shows clearly that Elijah
followed 3 basic ideas that we must follow today to receive what God wants us
to have:
· God
blesses those who listen
· God
blesses those who act in faith
· God
provides for those who follow his instructions and believe
When you strive to use these basic ideas
in your faith, what Your Lord has planned for you is only moments away and you
are able to pave the way in your life for God to work through you!
© Copyright 2004 Bible Vision
International. All Rights Reserved.
“LITV” is Literal
Translation of the Holy Bible
“ISV” is International
Standard Version
“MSG” is The Message
Translation