Is It Real To You?

The devil doth quote Scripture. -Shakespeare

Your walk with God: is it your walk or is it defined by someone else’s creed? Is it real to you?

Since the dear hour that brought me to Thy foot, And cut up all my follies by the root. – Cowper

Has His soul altering presence been given liberty to alter your daily thoughts, words, and deeds?

Is it real enough to boldly ask great things? Jabez had a grand faith that asked grand things because he knew he walked with a grand God. “Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” (1 Chronicles 4:10)

Is it so real to you that it grieves you that it is not more? “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:23-24)

Are you willing to push past the circumstances, the temporal view, and believe? “Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.” (2 Kings 4:26)

An Idol Blocks Our View

Our time spent communing with God is vital in making our relationship with Him more real, quick, and alive. A definition of idolatry is an obsession with and dependence upon anything other than God to make life work. What is it in your life that blocks you from a full view of God; that receives your trust in place of God?

I see as in a dream…I’m standing among others, a large object in front of me blocking my view. It’s large like a tree or a pillar maybe. I may feel secure next to it, as its size is great, but I’m missing the view. It is something to grab hold of should something dreadful happen. It’s real. It’s here. I see it before me; right at my fingertips is its security, but it’s blocking my view. The landscape stretches out far beyond me in my little shadowed spot, and I cannot see its grandeur. People move about, carrying on the great drama of life and I cannot fully participate from my compromised position. If I remove my block I must learn to stand amidst the greatness of it all; to find my footing on what I believe rather than what I see; to find comfort in being hidden and protected in the vast enormity; to rest secure in all the great unknown for as it is so much greater and wiser than I, it knows all and sees all and knows where I best belong. And to find the greatest of comfort not in my false notion of control and security, but in knowing Who is in control and that He deigns to call me His beloved. Like a child letting go of her father’s hand while perched upon the balance beam, there is that exciting, fearful, anticipatory feeling knowing all must be well because my father stands so near, yet knowing that my feeble legs must take that first step, knowing all too well the paralyzing nature of fear. Who is your Father? “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.” Fear only Him. Stand before Him with nothing between.

All Big Things are Made of Small Things

We are proved in the small things. Holiness begins in small things. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step.” Daniel purposed to be holy. This was his first step. Faith takes one step at a time never asking to see too far ahead. The small things in our daily ways; choices made at every turn reveal to us and to our Lord what business we mean: lean on my understanding or His, place Him first or me first, turn to Him for peace and comfort or to my idol?

By removing the idols in our lives and leaving us with nothing but a seeming vast enormity of unknown we are proving with our actions that we will rest in Him and Him alone. In this act we are worshipping Him with our all. It is in this frame of heart that we can, as the Scriptures say, “Wait for it.” (Habakkuk 2:3) As sure as Habakkuk revealed the surety and close proximity of God’s judgment, we, too, can wait for His promises to blossom in our lives, and for His presence to be made known unto us. He has declared it. It is as good as done.

Commune with Him. In the stillness of your room, be still. Wait. Peel away the layers of selfish thinking. Ask, “Lord, let me see You. Be gentle as You let me see mercy. Be still my soul. May I bow low in Your presence. Quietly, I wait; longsuffering You are. You have waited patiently for me. I will wait patiently for You. Free me from my bondage to time, to pride and to busyness. Bless me with a spiritual brokenness in the true presence of my Lord. I acknowledge that I am as close to You as I choose to be.”

Trust in His promises and walk closely with Him. The depth of your relationship with Christ depends on how persistent you are in digging.