Time To Step In

Would it be normal for someone to have to beg or coax a person to hang out with the love of their life? Of course not! When a young man meets the woman of his dreams, he not only finds every excuse possible to spend time with her, he is willing to brave great dangers to make it happen! In light of this, have you ever wondered why Jesus often withdrew to solitary places to pray? I mean, as the Son of God, why did he have to go pray like that? Was it a duty he had to endure or was it the joy and love of his life?

Matthew 14:23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.

Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Jesus’ profound love for His Father was in a dimension we cannot fully comprehend! Spending time with his Father was not a religious duty for Jesus; it was the love of his life! Look at Jesus’ prayer here in John 17.

Jn 17:20-23  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  NIV

How beautiful! Jesus not only spent intimate time with the Father, but he also lived his life in intimacy with him. Jesus knew how to draw near to his Father for deep and wonderful fellowship, and Scripture makes it clear that he not only loved those special times with his Father and always made a way to make it happen. It was not a chore; it was his greatest delight! Listen to what King David said about spending time with God.

Psalm 63:3-8 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name, I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips, my mouth will praise you. On my bed, I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; Your right hand upholds me.

Like Jesus, the greatest love of King David was his relationship with God. People often think that spending time with God is a chore that they must endure for the sake of righteousness. Performing the duty is not what a relationship with God is all about! I would never want my wife to spend time with me because it was her duty. I want her to spend time with me because she loves me and wants to be with me.

There is nothing more delightful in all of the world than spending time with your heavenly Father! Indeed, it is the most beautiful experience a person can ever have! You can be confident that extraordinary intimacy with God will follow the person who finds out how real he is and how passionately he loves them!

The first step in having an intimate relationship with God is recognizing that he is all around you and within you. Simply believing God is there is the beginning of a person’s most rewarding and fulfilling life. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith, it is impossible to please God. For those who come to him must believe that he exists and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.”

Do you know that he is there? Do you recognize that he is not only around you that within you? How about launching out into the deep with God? Yes, it may seem crazy, and without a doubt, it is uncharted territory, but oh, how amazing this journey can be! Can I challenge you today to go deeper with God than ever before? Don’t wait for tomorrow; the privilege of being close to him is available right now? Today is your day and now is your…

Time To Step In