Being alone. For those whose lives are filled with people, a little time alone can be a great thing. For those who spend too many hours by themselves, another minute alone can seem like an eternity. But whether we like it or not, we do have a built in need need for community and relationship, and it is a need that only God can truly meet.
Willard puts it beautifully in “Hearing God” when he writes that God is “able to penetrate and intertwine himself within the fibers of the human self in such a way that those who are enveloped in his loving companionship will never be alone.” He goes on to say that though we sometimes seek the presence of God for its external effects, “our contentment lies not in his presents, but in the presence of the One whose presents they are.”
What does a faith like that look like? Willard suggests a progression in our faith through three phases of awareness of the presence of God:
First, we may have a blind faith driven by our conviction alone. The person with a blind faith has no awareness of God being there with them at all and no evidence of His action in or around them…still they believe. We’ve all been there, and if we’re honest, we all return to this blind faith from time to time. Those described by this faith must be encouraged to believe there is much more for them to know and receive.
Second, we may have a feeling or impression of God’s presence. Though this “feeling” is often verified by the church community, one needs to carefully consider how to accurately recognize and access the meanings of such impressions. After all, many have gone wildly off-course when following their feelings or impressions.
Third, we may witness extraordinary events or powerful effects not easily attributable to merely natural causes. Such events and effects are certainly attested to in the Biblical account and well-documented in the Christian experience. I’m not talking here about big things, but things that have no other explanation other than to understand that “God was moving”.
Many would stop with these three, and I am thankful that Willard does not. To stop here would leave our interaction with God, as he puts it, “too close to the level of vague feelings, the Ouija board and even superstitious conjecture.” Simply put: there is more to a relationship with God than believing it, feeling it and seeing it! How can we be friends of God, enjoying a rich relationship with Him, if that is all there is? No, there is another way we can be aware of God’s presence.
Fourth, we may be with God in a conversational relationship in which He speaks with us individually as it is appropriate. This is to be expected between persons that know each other, care about each other and are engaged in common activities together. Isn’t that the sense you get from these words spoken by Jesus?
“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” John 14:15-21 (NLT)
I’m going to save some thoughts on how God speaks in a conversational relationship for the next post. Until then, ask yourself this question:
