Eliminating Barriers
A relationship with God promises a better, more joyful, and more abundant life. Who doesn’t want that? But the act of putting God in charge – a necessary part of your relationship with him – may seem scary. It’s human nature for us to want to be in control. What’s more, many of us have felt pretty out of control in our lives, so we try to manage the things happening around us.
Unfortunately, our “life management” included trying to control our partners, sometimes physically. That strategy usually doesn’t work well for anyone. If you’re reading this website, it’s something you’ve committed to changing.
Here are some questions that, when left unanswered, can keep people from accepting this life-giving relationship with God. If you have some of these same questions, we hope our answers put you at ease:
- experiencing God in nature
- feeling his presence as a sense of calm or peacefulness at an unexpected time
- seeing his involvement in miracles
- having novel thoughts that turn out to be really good guidance or answers to prayers
None of this is absolute proof – that’s why it’s called faith. Don’t check your brain at the door, but do check God out.
One of the really freeing things about a relationship with God is we begin to care a lot less what others think about us, especially opinions about how we look or our material possessions. Instead, we care about the qualities we know God appreciates, like how we treat others or whether we are using the talents he gives us to do good in this world. However, others will notice that you’ve become more patient, joyful, generous, and that you show better self-control during stressful situations. When they ask where this is coming from, it’s fine to point them to your power source.
If you are looking for a god that you can call up like a genie to give you ultimate power or fulfill your every wish, it won’t happen. This is not how God works. Like any good parent, he cares about your needs and loves to hear what you want. However, he won’t necessarily give you everything you desire because he knows that saying “No” or “Not now” is sometimes better for you.
Millions of believers would testify yes. How exactly this works we don’t know. There are mysteries about God we don’t understand on this side of heaven, but that does not make him false.
The Power to Change
Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
Christianity Q&A