It's Personal

This life is hard, but I probably don’t have to tell you that. There is a lot of good to be found in it, but it is also demanding, exhausting, painful, stressful and nerve-wracking. That is why we need a personal God.

But somehow, instead of entering into a one-on-one, intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ, many people, even Christians, seem to find it easier to follow some one-size-fits-all legalistic formula of religious living. And what was meant to be a personal and loving relationship with God through His Son has been reduced to no more than following a set of rules.  We were meant for so much more than that!

Maybe we don’t understand how extremely personal our God is and wants to be in our lives. Maybe we think He sees us all as cookie-cutter human beings, all expected to be and do and act the same, as long as we’re following the Ten Commandments. But that is not our God. Our God is a relational God.

God has called us for the purpose of relationship with Him. “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” (1 Corinthians 1:9)

Our personal God gives us the confidence to be able to say, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.” (Psalm 139:13)

God is so personal that He sees when even two people have come together in the name of Christ and tells us “For where two or three are come together in my name, there am I among them. (Matthew 18:20)

God is so personal that He hand picks each gift for every believer. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7)

And when we face trials, God is not off on some ethereal golf course. He tells us that, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

Our God says that He will personally see us through this life. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

Our God craves to show His love to His children so much that He says to us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

He is so personal that He sent His only Son to come and walk among us, talk to us, heal us and die for us.

He is so personal that we cannot accept Christ on behalf of someone else and no one else can accept Him for us. Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) We must each make the decision for ourselves to believe in Jesus Christ and allow Him into our lives.

And He is so personal that the moment that someone repents of their sins and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, He knows it and immediately the Holy Spirit comes, not just to be with us or upon us, but to live within us! Isn’t that amazing? He lives within the very heart of our being, knowing us like no other person ever can, knowing us better than we even know ourselves. He even goes so far as to promise that He will never leave us.

Each of us has our own unique situations and personal trials, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to just muddle through them. I want God to use them in my life to grow me up in Christ Jesus. I want to live victoriously in Christ no matter the circumstances. I want to include Him in every situation that comes along. I want to hear His voice leading me and encouraging me and I want to be able to take every concern to Him. I want to worship Him in spirit and in truth. I want the strength and wisdom and joy of having a personal, intimate, loving relationship with the Lord as we journey through this crazy life together.