Why Being in a Relationship with GOD is Awesome
“Oh GOD, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more” ~ A.W Tozer
I feel like a lot of what I have learned in the past 365 days of my life has come from my excursion to Guatemala this time last year. I had been there before, but this past trip was much different and forced me to examine myself on a much deeper, spiritual level. On one of the last nights at Hope of Life, our group headed down to the local village on campus like we had at the end of every other day. Unlike the usual trips, I peeled off and went to sit at the edge of the river bank and watch the sunset. As I sat there, I found myself thinking very introspectively and pondering life at that present time and the future yet to come. With my whole life in mind, I cannot think of another moment in time such as this where I can truly say that I was content with all in the world. At this outlying moment, nothing in the world mattered except my thoughts and GOD.
As it often occurs when a spiritual being ruminates on deep thoughts for any length of time, I began to speak to the Lord, not as in a rehearsed day to day prayer, but as in truly and conversationally talking with GOD (not to say that GOD doesn’t already know every aspect of our lives, secret and public, but He thoroughly enjoys it when we talk to Him about it anyway). I told Him all about the trip and about how exciting and wonderful it was to be daily used as a vessel for His kingdom. We talked about His future plans for me and about how I wanted to continue to pursue His love and grace even at home in America. As we talked about these things, I found myself beginning to become emotional and broke down and cried on the rock where I was sitting. As these emotions floated to the surface of my mind, I impulsively started to cry out to the Lord in a prodigious manner. I became like a little child beating on the chest of his daddy asking him for more out of life. I begged GOD to help me live a life worthy of being His son. I begged GOD to send me a burning passion for a lifelong career that I could work hard at. I begged GOD to show me a GODly woman that He wanted me to marry. Finally, I begged Him to give me a hunger and thirst for His word that would carry over into the way I lived my life and interacted with lost people around me. All of these requests are Holy Spirit filled and so I know they will be answered in an indescribable way; I just cannot wait to see them come to fruition.
Since this holy experience with my Heavenly Father, I have seen our relationship become more intimate. It has become a relationship that I display outwardly by my daily demeanor. I now strive to live a life that mirrors that of the main character Michael Hosea in Redeeming Love, “He was one of those rare men who lived what he believed, not once in awhile, but every hour of every day, even when the going wasn’t easy”. This heart change is not because I am capable of such a transformation on my own, but that GOD, rich in His mercy, has chosen to give me this new perspective on life. I now see GOD speak to me through small worldly vehicles that not everyone would notice or pick up on. Now that I am locked into focus with Him, GOD is going to speak to me clearly. The question is just whether or not I am prepared and eager to listen. Through this encounter with the Lord, His presence and the conversational aspect of our relationship has become not a luxury to me but an essentiality.
