God Is Intimately Involved

God is intimately involved in the lives of His children. He’s at work in the world around us, and we have an opportunity to partner with Him in the mission He’s already actively unfolding. But sometimes wrong thinking causes us to live as if God is far away. Today we explore a bit about what the Bible says about God’s proximity to us.

Check out John Lynch’s book “On My Worst Day” on Amazon, here: https://a.co/d/8JjSyNL

TRANSCRIPT:

Sometimes wrong beliefs about what God is like cause us to live as if He’s far away when really He’s close to us – maybe even closer than we realize! That was my experience. But as we step into the truth, life begins to take on a whole new level of freedom and purpose. We’re going to explore it together. Glad you’re here, New Creations! Let’s dive in…

Welcome to episode 13 of The We Are Recreated Podcast.

You know I used to have this feeling like God was up there and we – I – was down here. Not that God was cold or indifferent or didn’t care. Nothing like that. Just that… He’s God… in heaven… and He’s ruling… from His throne… in heaven…

And I’m here doing whatever I do, trying to trust Him, trying to know Him more, trying to be obedient to Him. Maybe you can relate, where you go, “Yeah, I’m saved, and I know Jesus, and I know that I belong to Him…” and yet somehow you feel like He’s a little distant from you… like He’s out there somewhere, and He’s accessible, and He’s around… but He’s out there and you’re living here living your life.

For me it was kind of a weird dichotomy because I had heard again and again that Jesus is with me. And I knew that Jesus lived in my heart. And I heard that verse often enough to believe it and to know it, that He will never leave me, He will never forsake me. And if you’ve spent any time in the church, maybe, well, maybe you’ve heard some of these things too.

And yet there was this underlying thought, or this perspective that I carried, that kept suggesting that God is out there somewhere watching me, observing me. I don’t know… leading me from a distance, watching from afar. And so it kind of shocked me one day when I was reading the this very familiar passage of scripture and I suddenly had fresh eyes on the whole thing.

Listen to these words from John 5: “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you the son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself is doing.’” It’s John 5:19-20

It struck me that Jesus did some pretty amazing things in his time on Earth. He healed blind people. He cleared the temple with a whip. He loved unlovely people. But these verses from John chapter 5 tell me that Jesus was just participating in what God was already doing. God the father was already active in the world and Jesus, following along

in the power of the Holy Spirit, came to partner with God, and was looking for the opportunities that God was presenting for him to join in in what was already taking place.

And so, in some way, God was already at work to heal the blind man. God was already on his way to clear the temple when Jesus joined him with that whip. In some way God was already loving unlovely people, and He was drawing them back to Himself with his kindness and His grace. And Jesus joined Him. He did what He saw the father doing. He only did what He saw the Father doing.

And I thought… should life really be any different for me? Probably not. God loves me. God leads me. And so, it was this amazing moment to realize that even in the good works that I’m called to do, in all of my life and living, God isn’t just out there. He is out there, but He’s not just up there in heaven hollering orders from His throne far away. He isn’t tossing out directions or expectations for me to follow and to live up to so that I can run off and fulfill those expectations.

I don’t know… I guess I had this underlying belief that God was kind of lobbing these tasks and these tests in my direction, and that I was supposed to toddle off and accomplish things for God. When, instead, God is close and God is already at work, and He’s already at work in me. He’s at work in the world around me already, and He’s present with me, working with me, working through me as I’m paying attention.

And I guess that’s the key: am I paying attention to what He’s up to? Everywhere I go, He’s leading me from the inside out. If you believe, you’ve received the Holy Spirit and he’s leading you from the inside out too, if you’ll rely on Him!

That’s what we find in Philippians 2:13. It says this: “It is God who works in you to will and to act, in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Because we’ve received the promised Holy Spirit, all of God has come to dwell in us. He resides in us. He’s in us to will – that means to choose, to discern, to decide what’s best – and to do – that means to act, and to work, and to be the power and the strength that carries us through to do those good things. God makes it happen as we rely on Him. He’s close to us, and He desires to

be the strength that accomplishes the goal. And the goal is in line with his good purpose his good pleasure.

I’ve experienced this kind of leading as well. Despite that unrecognized belief that told me God is distant. And I think, isn’t He just so kind that He would lead me despite me. He’s like that you know. I’ve had this unique privilege of sharing Jesus in a number of different countries over the last couple of decades. And when I was 17, for the first time I got to go to the country of Bulgaria. And while we were traveling around as a team, I got to meet a family who loved me, and I became great friends with their son, Yavor.

And if we were to fast forward a couple of years from that first moment that I met Yavor, my parents were heading back to Bulgaria on a trip, but I was staying behind this time. And yet, the closer we got to their date of departure, the more I felt this stirring inside that I should take some cash put it in an envelope and send it across the ocean for Yavor. I didn’t know why. I hadn’t talked with him in quite a while, but I had this urge in my spirit. I felt God prompting me, and so I did this thing. And then, for ages I wondered why. What was it all about? Until much, much later I got this report back.

Now you see God, had given Yavor this talent and this passion for dancing. It was his favourite thing in the world. And for teaching, and for preserving culture and heritage,  and particularly traditional Bulgarian dance… and so he had wanted to attend this school where he would learn some particular dance… stuff. (I’m not a dancer). Really what he was doing was pursuing this dream and this passion and this calling that God had put on his life, but he and his family didn’t know how they were going to pay for it. They didn’t have the cash for it at the time, but God knew, and at just the right time my parents were able to deliver this envelope with some money in it, and it helped make it possible for Yavor to go to dance school.

And it blew me away that God would do that! And so Yavor learned, and he now runs this very successful dance studio in Bulgaria where he’s passing on the gift, and he’s preserving heritage and culture for the nation of Bulgaria, and he’s bringing glory to Jesus through the arts and through his dance stuff.

And I think in that moment God was leading me from the inside out to fulfill his good purpose. It was according to God’s good pleasure that He had me do this thing.

I stumbled across this quote from John Lynch recently, not intending to include it in this particular episode. But it was just so fitting, and John was talking about exactly the same kind of thing in his book On My Worst Day. Have you read it? We recommend it as good reading, so there’s a link in the description that you can check out. But in chapter 4 John writes this amazing quote:

You and I are absolutely and completely now fused with each other. Your strength, joy, hope, peace… everything… will come from risking this to be true. We are melded as precious metals. Yes, I’m God and you’re human, but the unthinkable has happened: all of me infused into all of you. It is impossible to discern where I begin and you end. I’m no longer God up there with you down here. I’m now closer than a burning bush, a vision, or even a disciple sitting next to me. I am now identified by you, my dear friend.

It’s no longer God up there and us down here. God has come near. God is with us. That’s His name, right? Emanuel, God with us. And not just God With us beside us. Not God With us, around us. But God in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We have this amazing opportunity to partner with him in the things that he’s doing in the world as we risk that to be true. And we also have this amazing opportunity to rely on His ability and His strength, His wisdom and His grace to make it all happen. So, let’s press on with Him! It’s a great adventure.

John’s book is linked in the description below, and we’d love for you to check out another episode of the podcast so that you will be encouraged in your faith. And until we see you next time, remember: We Are Recreated!