He who chooses to build a relationship with God chooses the best friend, best helper, and best defender ever. This is the best decision ever.
God had always wanted to be close to us from the beginning of time.
God established an intimate relationship with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Then, he came down from heaven to visit and spend time with them each day before ascending back to heaven (Genesis 3).
Adam and Eve enjoyed his company and all the benefits that it brought into their lives. This made the devil jealous, and he sought to sever that relationship by leading Adam and Eve to sin against God.
The couple was then sent out of the Garden of Eden, and since then, God stopped visiting man physically.
However, he created a way to communicate with man even to this day, but not like he did in the garden of Eden.
God still reveals himself to anyone who wishes to know him personally. And whenever he reveals himself to them, their lives never remain the same.
There are many accounts in the Bible of people who had personal encounters with God, and people who had a special relationship with God in both the old and new testaments. Let's discover how these life-changing relationships began.
How to Develop a Personal Relationship with God
Developing a personal relationship with God is necessary to become a born-again Christian. It is the same as having a personal relationship with any other person.
It begins by developing interest and liking for that person. If you want to have a personal relationship with God, you must first have a burning desire for him in your heart. God does not dwell on the outward; he seeks the inward and is motivated by the desires of your heart. However, you must be willing to give him not just a part but the entirety of your heart and soul.
Why? Because God does not share his space with any other thing or person. You must purge your heart, body, and soul of sin and worldliness because God is a holy God. He does not dwell in half-hearted places.
You must go before him with a sincere heart, confess your sins, and genuinely forsake them.
Ask God to cleanse you from all your iniquities, and then open your heart to the anointing of his Holy Spirit.
Once the Holy Spirit fills your heart, you immediately become a vessel of God, and he begins to dwell in you. Then, your relationship with him becomes established.
To keep in tune with him, you must study his word (the Bible). If you open your heart to the leading of the Holy Spirit, your relationship with God will grow from that moment on.
To avoid disruption of this union with God, you must endeavor to live a holy life, one that actively denies sin. You must also learn to live by faith at all times because it is this faith that pleases God. God is not limited by earthly impossibilities; this is why he always wants us to challenge him with our faith.
The book of Hebrew 11:6 makes us understand that it is impossible to please God without faith. And we can only overcome impossibilities with our faith in the Lord our God.
Your relationship with God will wax stronger every day if you keep his commands diligently and meditate on his words. Your relationship also strengthens with God when you walk in love and listen to the guidance of his Holy Spirit.
Having a personal relationship with God is the sweetest and most rewarding experience a person can ever have.
1. We will always benefit from God's grace.
Having a personal relationship with God puts us under His everlasting grace (John 1:16). He will never leave you to yourself, he is always with you, and for as long as he is with you, you get to enjoy the benefits of his abundant and endless grace. Psalms 23:1-6
God's grace is evidence of his loving-kindness, steadfast love, and divine favor. 2 Corinthians 5:8
Anyone who has a personal relationship with God gets to enjoy all of these freely and at all times. After all, God's grace gives all this sweetness and eternal life. Titus 3:7
God's grace allows us to overcome any situation in life. His graces save us from being cast down by the world's trials and tribulations, and everyone around us, especially non-believers, sees this hope amid hard times. This is the same grace David enjoyed that projected him from a mere shepherd boy to a gallant warrior and eventually to the King of Israel.
David's personal relationship with God made him confident that he could defeat Goliath. Because he was aware that God had been delivering him from the lions and the bears in the fields, he knew he could defeat Goliath with the help of God who was steadfast and sure (1 Samuel 17:37).
2. We will never be misled by God.
When you have a personal relationship with God, he is always with you, and by the guidance of his Spirit, you can never be misled. 1 Corinthians 2:13
The Holy Spirit present in your life will always speak to you and teach you things beyond your wildest imaginations John 14: 26-31. Also, he will teach you to take the right steps and make the right decisions always - if you listen to him. With the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life, it will become practically impossible for you to be gullible to any worldly deception. You will become wiser through God's Spirit. Ephesians 1:17
3. Our confidence will be unbreakable.
Let me take you back to the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel 3:12-30:
When King Nebuchadnezzar summoned them and asked them to bow and worship him or be thrown in a burning furnace, these three Jews confidently replied to him that their God whom they serve could deliver them from the burning fiery furnace, and He would deliver them from the hands of the king.
Why do you think these three men had such confidence in their God? The answer is simple! They had a personal relationship with God. They developed this confidence in their Lord over a long time because all through their lives, God had never failed them, not even once.
This is one of the benefits of having a personal relationship with God. He will always come through for you in times of trouble. As he did for the Jews- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when he saved them from the furnace and from King Nebuchadnezzar.
4. We will always be content.
Having a personal relationship with God will always put you in sync with the Holy Spirit whose existence in your life is to constantly guide you, lead you, and teach you.
Your relationship with God puts you constantly in his presence where you will find joy to the fullest. This is proven in the books of 1 Chronicles 16:26-27 and in Psalms 16:11. Of course, we will not always be happy, as a fallen world subjects us to heartache and hard times. Yet, through a personal relationship with Christ, we have constant access to a joy that encourages us and reminds us of our eternal promise given by Christ.
5. We are invincible and victorious.
Your personal relationship with God always puts you at an advantage over your enemies. Anyone with God is constantly protected by him. He makes you untouchable by your enemies no matter how hard they try. The book of Psalms 91:1-16 proves this extensively.
He who chooses to build a relationship with God chooses the best friend, best helper, and best defender ever. This is the best decision ever.
God will always protect his own and remain faithful to those who choose to follow him (2 Thessalonians 3:3).
I implore us all to develop a personal relationship with God Almighty because he is the one we need the most in these trying times.
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