The Knowable God
In the face of Wayne's upcoming trip to England, Brad questions him as to why he travels, what happens when he's with people, and what is the overriding vision for the things he does. That leads to a discussion about following God, living in his nudgings and finding a relationship with him that works. They talk about how their own relationships with God work, how they cultivate that reality in their own lives so that their journey in God doesn't degenerate into following a set of principles, but in following him. Paul's encouragement in Colossians 2 reminds us of the dangers of learning about this journey, without actually going on it.
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I really hope I didn’t hear you say that you were going to a Suffolk in the North East of England….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffolk
Have a great time in Ol’ Blighty!
Wayne, so glad to hear that you and Sara are going to England. I’m excited for you and for those you will be with. I’m praying for all of you.
Thank you for sharing about the “space of surrender”. I know that space and it is most wonderful. I think lots of us know that space from time to time but the enemy sows doubts about its reality, trying to convince us that it is just us fooling ourselves. So helping break down the walls that isolate our experiences with a “yeah it’s real I’ve been there too” sharing from a brother is a gift from Father. Blessings, we’re all in this together :>)
Felt deeply touched by what you both shared today because I was losing track of that concept of if I have a relationship with him then all will be okay–it is sooooooooooooo easy to forget, even though this is so important to me.
I noticed a bit more seriousness this podcast–a little more planning, perhaps?Yet I enjoyed and appreciated it because it seemed focused, and centered. I could be wrong…and am willing to be:)
I think that sharing specific ways that you cultivate your relationship with the Father don’t have to turn into techniques–but rather are inspiration and reinforcement. Our neuropathways have been trained for so long to go down a path of “If I just can plan enough and follow these principles I can do anything.” the problem is that often we can achieve so much with out the relationship. We get a taste of how it can be.
I am trusting that having this relationship will yield much more than I could ever manipulate to happen on my own–and finding it to be true as I trust in the Father.
You are doing an awesome work–thanks so much.
We haven’t gone to “proper” church since the beginning of the year. Instead, we use the weekend for family activites around our location in Queensland, Australia. On Sunday morning, we visited the public launch session of rocket enthusiasts. It was really cool seeing and hearing the big ones take off!
We found the people friendly enough, but they obviously preferred to spend time with the friends they had made who shared their common enthusiasm. My husband commented that the event was a lot like church, but without the expectation that we would be welcomed. Plus no one was taking donations, and the leaders had organised the meet just because they loved the hobby!
How do I try and try to make things happen…still…and I just once more came to the conclusion that it probably is best to abandon this empty efforts. To abandon to even make this relationship happen…I like that statement of Brad. It words out the cry of my heart. To stop try and just live. And there is the fear again…the fear of loosing track and just floating in space sort to speak. Hm. But I guess that is the place to be right now so if there is that relationship thing…it can happen the way God intended it to be and not the way I think it was supposed to. I am really curious where this journey will bring me at the end. Right now it feels more like getting an atheist.
So glad to have been lead to this website and message. This journey of understanding that KNOWING God is “where it’s at” has been life long (so far). Your message brought back so many memories and many of the same thoughts and insights. For instance, the difference between a LIFE lived knowing all ABOUT the one true God and his son whom he sent, Jesus Christ and a life lived WITH Him, in Him, thru Him, etc. In Him we live and move and have our being/existence. Heavy stuff. One interesting part of your message was about the people who study Golf and Aeronautics. They know all ABOUT these subjects and keep coming back for more learning, but never go out to play a round of Golf or fly the plane. I think the true church is in those who decided to graduate, take that leap of faith and get to Know God and be with Him where ever he is at. The problem is that if you make the decision to graduate, you can’t go back to school with the rest of “the church” and be OK with that unless of course God has called you to stay.
So here’s the question, I don’t think God wanted us to be on this journey with Him by ourselves. Where is the Church? Why isn’t He enough? Maybe God is leading me in a new direction and I should just quit the whining, get on His roller coaster and go for a ride.
I can’t tell you how refreshing this was to listen to you both talk about this “journey”. For so many years I’ve struggled with what is “required” of me in order to have intimacy with God. I’ve tried those “principles” that you spoke of, and all of them failed miserably, and I’ve been left with sadness and emptiness, and feeling like I’m never going to “measure up” enough to have that wonderful experience of “knowing” Him. People say to me, “Lora, God loves your heart”, and I can’t even begin to wrap my head around that because of the condemnation I feel for failing HIm in this journey. Listening to you both speak, I have renewed hope that, yes, I can have intimacy with Him if I just surrender myself to Him and rest in His unfathomable love for me. Kind of like a baby being held by its mother as she gives it a bath…the baby just lays in the safety of her hands and receives the washing and cleansing, and comes away smelling so sweet from the bathing, and yet so safe wrapped withing the arms of its mother. So it is with our Father if we just lay back in His hands, and let Him care for us, and receive the love that He has for us, and doing so come to know His heart for us. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful message. God bless you both profoundly and abundantly far above anything you could ever ask or hope or dream of. Your sister in Christ.