What Does It REALLY Mean to "Get Closer to God"? And How Can You Tell That You Really Are "Closer to Him"?
- Thread starter seoulsearch
- Start date
-
Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.
If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!
To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Everyone is drawn to specific posts for different reasons, which is why I love that people can share their own unique perspectives here.
HIH, I wanted to tell you that I've been thinking about your post ever since I read it.
This analogy REALLY spoke to me and it will be on my heart as I continue my own endeavor to get "closer to God."
Thank you so much! 🌺
HIH, I wanted to tell you that I've been thinking about your post ever since I read it.
This analogy REALLY spoke to me and it will be on my heart as I continue my own endeavor to get "closer to God."
Thank you so much! 🌺
-
1
-
1
- Show all
@seoulsearch
I've thought a lot about this since you posted it. I think it could be a combination of the things you listed in the poll, but could also be one or none I think.
If you're like me, you've heard your share of sermons on this. But I don't remember any conclusions in particular. You get the standard list of select verses and such. Maybe after the sermon, it caused us to study our bibles with a stern look, maybe we felt a little holy while giving thanks over our meals, or something like that?, I don't know.
I think here we are 2000 years after the fact, and we just don't know. The people who did know are long gone. We've had "Great Awakenings" and such, and we felt holy for a while but it didn't last.
So, I don't know. I try in my own way. I hang out with people who seek that relationship. I study and do those things we know to do. Maybe one day we'll figure that out.
RB
I've thought a lot about this since you posted it. I think it could be a combination of the things you listed in the poll, but could also be one or none I think.
If you're like me, you've heard your share of sermons on this. But I don't remember any conclusions in particular. You get the standard list of select verses and such. Maybe after the sermon, it caused us to study our bibles with a stern look, maybe we felt a little holy while giving thanks over our meals, or something like that?, I don't know.
I think here we are 2000 years after the fact, and we just don't know. The people who did know are long gone. We've had "Great Awakenings" and such, and we felt holy for a while but it didn't last.
So, I don't know. I try in my own way. I hang out with people who seek that relationship. I study and do those things we know to do. Maybe one day we'll figure that out.
RB
-
1
-
1
- Show all
I feel like it can be summed up with the "He must increase, I must decrease" verse. How we let go and let our desires/actions/attitudes gradually be replaced with (or overridden by) God's. But here are a few specifics about what I think that looks like for me:
In some ways I feel more intertwined with God. Like there is no "me" without Him. Sometimes when a good idea pops into my head, like the solution to a problem, I'm not sure whether it came from my brain or whether God told me Himself. But at the same time, I know that He gave me the brain I think with, and every scrap of wisdom that I have ever had. And so it doesn't matter because it's from Him regardless. Living each day like that makes it feel more like I'm living WITH Him instead of living my life and checking in with Him from time to time.
And in some ways I feel more separate from Him. I have an easier time telling God's warning bells from my anxiety as I've matured in Christ. It seems easier to tell if God is telling me to draw back from a project vs me just being tired or fed up. I know that the times I've felt His leading strongly to go somewhere or do something, it's been amazing in one way or another. I end up crying with a cashier or something and talking about Jesus, and that kind of thing doesn't just happen on my whims.
I think we do naturally sin less as He teaches us what love is and how to handle different situations. Our human nature automatically decreases as we come to see His point of view and understand our fellow humans through a dose of the grace He gave us. And I believe that comes about by praying, listening, reading the Bible and following His leading.
But it also comes from the smaller details of how He told us to live our lives. When I manage to be quick to hear and slow to speak, I naturally have a better understanding of where another person is coming from. That understanding leads to patience and compassion for whatever they are going through, or an appreciation of their perspective. So that particular growth doesn't exactly come from reading the slow-to-speak verse in the Bible, but moreso from putting the very basic principles of love into practice when we don't necessarily feel like it. It's by being doers and not just hearers.
It all becomes like a snowball rolling downhill, where we want to live more like how He wants us to, as we come to understand His love and why He said the things He said. How things work out better for us and those around us when we listen to His leading and walk His way.
Do I always do these things? Heckkkkkkk no! 😂 I'm prone to anger and impatience and laziness and all KINDS of other things. I had to apologize to one of the youth group kids for snapping at him during a lock-in (yes he was being a buttcrack, but that's beside the point). But being closer to God means that these issues don't get the better of me as often. And that I recognize when I'm not walking His way because I lose my peace and feel like my spiritual shoes are on the wrong feet. If I don't recognize it, He takes out His holy 2 by 4 and gives me a good whack.
I know it's really up to God to define how close someone is to Him at any given time. And I think it's cool how the Bible says that the people who think they're closest to God need to watch their butts 😂 (very loose translation). But I also know that things like displaying the fruits of the spirit and walking in His way are definite signs of growth. So I'm reaching for those goals, and I continue to ask Him for help with whatever ways He wants to improve me.
In some ways I feel more intertwined with God. Like there is no "me" without Him. Sometimes when a good idea pops into my head, like the solution to a problem, I'm not sure whether it came from my brain or whether God told me Himself. But at the same time, I know that He gave me the brain I think with, and every scrap of wisdom that I have ever had. And so it doesn't matter because it's from Him regardless. Living each day like that makes it feel more like I'm living WITH Him instead of living my life and checking in with Him from time to time.
And in some ways I feel more separate from Him. I have an easier time telling God's warning bells from my anxiety as I've matured in Christ. It seems easier to tell if God is telling me to draw back from a project vs me just being tired or fed up. I know that the times I've felt His leading strongly to go somewhere or do something, it's been amazing in one way or another. I end up crying with a cashier or something and talking about Jesus, and that kind of thing doesn't just happen on my whims.
I think we do naturally sin less as He teaches us what love is and how to handle different situations. Our human nature automatically decreases as we come to see His point of view and understand our fellow humans through a dose of the grace He gave us. And I believe that comes about by praying, listening, reading the Bible and following His leading.
But it also comes from the smaller details of how He told us to live our lives. When I manage to be quick to hear and slow to speak, I naturally have a better understanding of where another person is coming from. That understanding leads to patience and compassion for whatever they are going through, or an appreciation of their perspective. So that particular growth doesn't exactly come from reading the slow-to-speak verse in the Bible, but moreso from putting the very basic principles of love into practice when we don't necessarily feel like it. It's by being doers and not just hearers.
It all becomes like a snowball rolling downhill, where we want to live more like how He wants us to, as we come to understand His love and why He said the things He said. How things work out better for us and those around us when we listen to His leading and walk His way.
Do I always do these things? Heckkkkkkk no! 😂 I'm prone to anger and impatience and laziness and all KINDS of other things. I had to apologize to one of the youth group kids for snapping at him during a lock-in (yes he was being a buttcrack, but that's beside the point). But being closer to God means that these issues don't get the better of me as often. And that I recognize when I'm not walking His way because I lose my peace and feel like my spiritual shoes are on the wrong feet. If I don't recognize it, He takes out His holy 2 by 4 and gives me a good whack.
I know it's really up to God to define how close someone is to Him at any given time. And I think it's cool how the Bible says that the people who think they're closest to God need to watch their butts 😂 (very loose translation). But I also know that things like displaying the fruits of the spirit and walking in His way are definite signs of growth. So I'm reaching for those goals, and I continue to ask Him for help with whatever ways He wants to improve me.
-
2
-
1
- Show all