And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6
No one enters into a relationship with God without expressing faith in Him, but many times (like the Galatian Christians,) people ‘forget’ about faith and start struggling to ‘please’ God. This should not be; but the reason we find many Christians in this situation is because we have not taken time to grow in our relationship with the Father of spirits. Like Martha, we get encumbered by activities that we expect ‘will make Jesus happy’, but don’t take time to sit at His feet, listen to Him and get to know Him. I believe Jesus hailed Mary’s decision to bask in His presence as the only thing which is needed, because He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (See Luke 10: 38-42)
Some friends of mine were going away for a weekend and needed someone to keep their children with. They ended up choosing the husband’s Mom for this important task—she lived close by, was happy to have the kids and they trusted her. There were other people who fulfilled the first two criteria, they had many neighbors who will be happy to have the kids; but had not built enough of a trust relationship to entrust their precious children to them.
The point of today’s devotional is that you cannot trust God if you don’t know Him and you do not get to know Him automatically because you are a Christian. Not everyone trusts their mothers with their kids, it is the people who are known and respected that get to handle such tasks. You need to cultivate a relationship with God, the same way you invest time in your physical relationships. True, God is spirit; so some people say it is more difficult to relate with Him. Yet, He has presented multiple avenues to enable us get to know Him:
He seeks to hear our voice in prayer [Pray continually (1Thessalonians 5:17)];
He wants to talk to us through the scriptures [Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation (1Peter 2:2)];
He wants to reveal things beyond human knowledge to our spirits [“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”–but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.(1 Corinthians 2: 9,10)]
Apostle Paul said this to the Galatians when they got lost in the motions: “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” It is time we stopped playing religion and concentrated on building ourselves up in the relationship we have with God. Then we can truly rely on our all-powerful God to help us live a fulfilled life, accomplishing His purpose. We find His grace sufficient for every situation; because we know Him, we can trust Him to fulfill His promises in our lives.
– Dr. Ifelayo Peter Ojo
