1. God deeply desires to have a personal and intimate relationship with me.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
What words would you use to describe the relationship that currently exists between you and God?
Are there areas where you would like something more in your relationship with God? Name them.
How does it make you feel to think that God desires to be alone with you, delights in being with you, and is happy whenever you make time for Him?
What obstacles keep your relationship with God from growing?
God desires an ongoing and healthy relationship with each person. We are not just part of some cosmic project that God designed to get everyone into heaven. God created us so that we—God and I, God and you—could enjoy a meaningful and deep relationship.
This relationship is not dependent on spiritual objects or other people. It doesn’t rely on your pastor, your church, or even the Bible. All of these can be helpful in your relationship with God, but none of them are a substitute for your relationship with God. Even experiences of God are not the same as a relationship with God.
A relationship is the space between two persons. The nature of that space—the health, the depth, the level of awareness, the freedom, and the affection—are just some of the things that define the relationship. The gifts, uniqueness, maturity, and health of each individual will contribute to and help create the relational space.
The experiences that two people share may affect the relationship, but they are not the relationship. The feelings they have toward each other influence the relationship, but they are not the relationship. The actions of one to the other also shape the relationship, but they are not the relationship either.
Relationship is the place where we receive God’s deep and unconditional love, and where we love Him in return. Love can only be given and received in a relationship, so God desires that we join Him in a relationship defined as loving, intimate, healthy, pure and holy.