Jacob’s passion for God’s blessing on his life was so intense that he wrestled in the dirt all night with God, saying, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”15 The amazing part of that story is that God, who is all powerful, let Jacob win! God isn’t offended when we “wrestle” with him, because wrestling requires personal contact and brings us close to him! It is also a passionate activity, and God loves it when we are passionate with him.
Paul was another man passionate for friendship with God. Nothing mattered more; it was the first priority, total focus, and ultimate goal of his life. This is the reason God used Paul in such a great way. The Amplified translation expresses the full force of Paul’s passion: “My determined purpose is that I may know Him—that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly.”16
The truth is—you are as close to God as you choose to be. Intimate friendship with God is a choice, not an accident. You must intentionally seek it. Do you really want it—more than anything? What is it worth to you? Is it worth giving up other things? Is it worth the effort of developing the habits and skills required?
You may have been passionate about God in the past but you’ve lost that desire. That was the problem of the Christians in Ephesus—they had left their first love. They did all the right things, but out of duty, not love. If you’ve just been going through the motions spiritually, don’t be surprised when God allows pain in your life.
Pain is the fuel of passion—it energizes us with an intensity to change that we don’t normally possess. C. S. Lewis said, “Pain is God’s megaphone.” It is God’s way of arousing us from spiritual lethargy. Your problems are not punishment; they are wake-up calls from a loving God. God is not mad at you; he’s mad about you, and he will do whatever it takes to bring you back into fellowship with him. But there is an easier way to reignite your passion for God: Start asking God to give it to you, and keep on asking until you have it. Pray this throughout your day: “Dear Jesus, more than anything else, I want to get to know you intimately.” God told the captives in Babylon, “When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.”17
Your Most Important Relationship
There is nothing—absolutely nothing—more important than developing a friendship with God. It’s a relationship that will last forever. Paul told Timothy, “Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life—they don’t know God.”18 Have you been missing out on the most important thing in life? You can do something about it starting now. Remember, it’s your choice. You are as close to God as you choose to be.
DAY TWELVE
THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE
Point to Ponder: I’m as close to God as I choose to be.
Verse to Remember: “Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.” James 4:8a (NLT)
Question to Consider: What practical choices will I make today in order to grow closer to God?
13
Worship That Pleases God
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Mark 12:30 (NIV)
God wants all of you.
God doesn’t want a part of your life. He asks for all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. God is not interested in halfhearted commitment, partial obedience, and the leftovers of your time and money. He desires your full devotion, not little bits of your life.
A Samaritan woman once tried to debate Jesus on the best time, place, and style for worship. Jesus replied that these external issues are irrelevant. Where you worship is not as important as why you worship and how much of yourself you offer to God when you worship. There is a right and wrong way to worship. The Bible says, “Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him.”1 The kind of worship that pleases God has four characteristics:
God is pleased when our worship is accurate. People often say, “I like to think of God as…,” and then they share their idea of the kind of God they would like to worship. But we cannot just create our own comfortable or politically correct image of God and worship it. That is idolatry.
Worship must be based on the truth of Scripture, not our opinions about God. Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”2