How Bad Do You Want It?

Reflection from Joyce Meyers' book, Knowing God Intimately

THE WORD:
"You will seek and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jer. 29:13)

"No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age, and in the age to come eternal life." (Mk 10:29)

MY TRUTH:
How many times have we said, "God, if you would only make it plain!"?  The truth is, God is as close as you want Him to be.  I want to know that I know that I know God.  As a matter of fact, I want to experience what the Apostle Paul prayed for us, that we might "surpass knowledge, [and] be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Eph 3:18)  See, knowledge is just to have information about something - we all have access to that through the Word - but to be filled with God, that's something different.  But how do we get there?

Well, according to Jeremiah 29:13, it's a guarantee that we will find God when we seek him with all our heart.  God told us, "draw near to me, and I will draw near to you." How often do we draw near to God?  During the time of the Israelites, God demonstrated the different levels of intimacy we can experience with God (Ex 19 & 24).  God loves us all, but isn't close to us all.

• Level 1 - The majority of the Israelites had to wait at the bottom of the mountain, and observe God's glory from afar.  God told Moses, "let the people hear me, when I speak to you." I don't want to receive my Word through someone else!  Then He said, "let them be ready for the third day." They can only experience God at certain times - I need God with me at all times.
• Level 2 - There were a few elders that could come a little up the mountain and "they saw God, and they ate and drank."
• Level 3 - Reserved for Moses and his aide, Joshua.  Joshua was special because he was an aide - he dedicated his life to serve another man, and through this, serve God.  He was a helper, a man of faith and spent his time in prayer.
• Level 4 - The deepest level of intimacy was experienced only by Moses, who had sacrified his previous life as a wealthy heir to the throne of Egypt, and ultimately claim identity with an enslaved people.  He spent 40 days and 40 nights spending time with God.  In this level, God speaks directly to Moses.

Our intimacy with God grows with increased obedience and sacrifice.  When I was preparing for my wedding, I wanted to get in shape.  I made it a priority - I planned my meals in advance, bought healthier foods that cost more, and prioritized going to the gym twice a day.  It took discipline and sacrifice.  Jesus told us to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Mt. 6:33) 

He wants us to make seeking Him a priority, but how do we prioritize God?  You can tell someone's priorities through their TIME and MONEY - if we evaluated our investments today, what would they reveal about our priorities?  Do we plan out our alone time with Him and make it sacred, or do we put prayer and reading His Word on the backburner, and then it never gets done?  Are we like Joshua, being an aide to others in our lives, or do we revolve all of our prayers and daily tasks around ourselves?  Would we sacrifice our money, identity, and future like Moses, or do we only obey God when it's convenient for us?

Taking our relationship with God to the next level means that we are going to have to get serious about our commitment.  He is looking for believers who are seeking him diligently with all of their heart, through sacrifice and obedience.