Recently someone asked me how to establish a personal relationship with God. Hmm. That took me all the way back to the crisis I faced that dramatically changed my life with the Lord. A crisis so devastating I thought my life would be ruined because of it. We were in danger of losing everything…
Two weeks before Christmas I received a fat envelope containing a malpractice suit. A physician’s worst nightmare. How could this be happening when I had prayed every working day that God would protect me from being sued?
Worse yet, I knew from my law studies that innocent people have been found guilty. Would that be me, too?
My attorney forbade me from talking to anyone about the case. Isolation, fear, helplessness and anger consumed my thoughts. Where was God in this? Why didn’t He protect me?
Yet God was the only one I could talk to. I had nowhere else to turn.
Suddenly I found time to wake up at 5:30 am every morning to search the Psalms and Proverbs for any verses that might comfort me and give me the strength to face one more day.
The lawsuit was just the beginning of my crisis. Months later the Lord impressed on me to lay down my career—a career that took nine years of postgraduate training. How could I throw all that hard work away in the middle of a lawsuit? How would we survive financially, especially if I lost the suit?
In a matter of months my entire life had bottomed out. Or so I thought.
The road to a personal relationship with God seemed strewn with boulders, huge boulders. But I had no other choice if I wanted to survive. My independence was shattered, as were pride and self-sufficiency.
Facing the loss of everything forced me to laser focus on the Lord and His Word—the two most important keys to establishing a personal relationship with Him. It was the start of learning to know God not just intellectually, not just in my head, but in my heart.
Desperation drove me to dependency. On God. Not on me.
Not everyone needs to go through a crisis in order to develop a personal relationship with God. If you sincerely want to know and experience the Lord personally, here are a few suggestions to think about.
- Ask yourself: What is my top priority in life? My career? God?
- If you are not sure, ask God to show you.
- Are distractions keeping you from reading and meditating on Scripture?
- Is prayer a priority in your life?
- Do you want His will above all else? Have you told Him that?
- Are you relying solely on human wisdom or submitting your mind to the leading of the Holy Spirit?
Sometimes we fail to find intimacy with God because we have not learned to trust Him. We may not have had a good relationship (or any relationship) with our earthly father. That void makes God seem distant, too. Or we may not have a clear understanding of who God really is—His unconditional love and absolute goodness. These are parts of His nature that you will experience over time as you draw closer to Him.
God is attracted to those who pursue Him with passion and persistence. He is looking for those who continue to seek Him despite crises, seemingly unanswered prayers and scraped knees. It’s not an easy road. Far from it. It’s a lifelong process. But it is eternally gratifying.
How hungry are you for the things of the Lord? What are you willing to forgo to know Him?
Then you will seek Me, inquire for and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 AMP