Join Him

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.  (Proverbs 9:10 NASB)

I've met many people with varying degrees of interest in and knowledge of God.  As I was growing up, many of the "arguments" against the existence of God took place in the scientific realm.  As such, much of the discussion took place around science.  Today, the discussions go everywhere...science...world religions...history & church credibility...theological belief on a certain topic...and on...and on...and on...


Over the years, I've tried to answer the first question a person presents me about any of these topics as they relate to God.  What I've found is that no one has the knowledge necessary to answer this vast-array of topics.  When I take the time to ask a few questions myself, however, I find that the real topic of discussion becomes quite different.  The original questions were only an "opening segue" to what is really bothering them.


"My grandparents don't believe this.  If I believe it, aren't I condemning them to hell?"
"That's fine that God exists, but I'm really messed up.  I need to get my act together first."
"If I do this God-thing, am I going to have to stop _____________?  I don't think I can do that."


The conversations get very personal.  They have less to do with high-minded scientific and theological debates and have more to do with a personal struggle with the same problem:  facing God.  We don't want to face an all-powerful, all-knowing God who has been watching us every step of the way.  We don't want to look Him in the eye.  We don't want to hear what He has to say (because we think we already know what He will say). We are afraid.  


Scripture tells us that a reaction of fear is normal.  It also tells us that is good.  Being afraid means we are recognizing God's position in the grand scheme of things...and our position as well.  Being afraid means we recognize things aren't quite right between us and that something needs to change.  Scripture also tells us that being afraid is only the beginning.  There are still many steps to take on this path.


Now, when I meet someone who is afraid of God at a personal level, I am encouraged.  I try to encourage them as well.  Their heart is ready to take the next steps: learning how to join Him...unafraid.

See Him

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees.     (Genesis 3:8 NLT)

Have you ever looked at those ink blots as a part of...what do they call that...a Rorschach test.  You know the ones I'm talking about?  They're a blot of ink that you look at and stay the first thing that comes into your mind.  It's kind of like laying on your back and looking up at the clouds.  One person looks at the ink blot (or cloud) and thinks of a butterfly.  Another person looks at the same image and says, "Angel!"  It all depends on what you see.

You can't walk with God if you never see Him.  You need to know where He is before you can join Him.  It's just that simple.  The question is, "Do you see Him?"  Adam and Eve did.  In fact, they knew God so well that they recognized His footsteps BEFORE they saw Him that day.  They must have seen Him a lot.

When He came to be with them, though, they ran and hid.  It wasn't because they didn't see Him.  It was because they didn't want to be seen.  I wonder, sometimes, if that isn't the bigger problem we face as well.  Perhaps it isn't that we don't see God, but, rather, that we don't want to be seen.

Walking with God

Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person.  (Genesis 2:7 NLT)

I've often wondered what the experience was like for Adam on that day.  Did he feel the warmth of the sunlight on his face?  Perhaps there was a cool breeze from the waterfall nearby, freely flowing from the springs that came up from the ground.  When he opened his eyes, was it too bright to see?  Was the light overwhelming, not from the Sun, but from the Son through whom everything was created.


What did he think as he watched his Creator begin to create even more...grass...plants...trees.  Did they walk around as the creation process unfolded before his eyes?  Were his senses overwhelmed with the springtime-fresh newness of life as the flowers took bloom for the first time?  What was it like to be "placed" in this midst of this garden whose creation he had just experienced?  Did he ask questions?  Were the sounds of new life enough to fill the air?

Each day is a choice.  I decide what I see and what I block out.  My days are filled with more information than I can possibly hope to process...so I choose.  "Ugh, it's a cloudy day again." "When is it going to warm up?"  "I wish it wasn't so hot today.  I hate the heat!"  "Sorry, I've got to go. I'm running late and I have to get to..."

What would happen if I chose to look at the world around me differently?  What would happen if I saw weather patterns not as something to track on the internet, but a part of an overwhelmingly large system that was created and is sustained by God?  What if each day was not driven by my calendar or clock, but was driven by the agenda God would love for me to enjoy?  What if I took the time to get get to know God and dared to ask Him how to spend my days?  What would happen?  Would anything change?

I've asked these questions and it has resulted in change.  Many people around me have considered these changes significant...and they are right.  I never want to go back.  In fact, Walking with God is so good I only want to learn how to do it better and better with each passing day.

How about you?  Are you ready to walk with God?