“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” Romans 11:33
God’s ways require an understanding that is not shallow or unintentional. Rather, it’s deep and deliberate. So as a serious follower of my Savior Jesus I have to ask, “Am I delving deep into the heart and mind of God or am I satisfied with a surface relationship?” The Almighty wants much more for His children than to be an acquaintance. His desire is an intense intimacy that engages and endures after our simple prayer of salvation to Jesus.
“Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” (Isaiah 30:18). He longs to be gracious and give His sons and daughters good things. But are we so busy serving Him that we miss being with Him? Depth of relationship with Christ requires coming to His feet by faith and surrendering once again our self, our stuff and our secrets.
If we take care of the depth, He will take of the breadth. If we make the effort to focus on internal intimacy, He will take care of our external influence. For example, take responsibility for being the spiritual leader in your home, and trust Him to open doors for you to be a spiritual leader outside your home. Focus on prayer with those you work with and trust Him to open doors for you to pray with influencers outside of your work.
How do I know if I am going deeper with the Lord and not just enamored with theology in my holy huddle? Authentic intimacy with Christ is compelled to love, serve and worship Him. Your motivation flows from the inside out. Instead of being driven by guilt you are lead by grace. You take yourself less seriously and Christ and His commands more seriously. There is a holy ambition to know God and to make Him known!
Indeed, a Holy Spirit exchange takes place, “God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). His revelation shows us the way. However, as we dive deep into the riches of His wisdom, we are held hostage by humility. True depth with God honors Him and Him alone. Glory escapes from any self-promotion on earth and assigns itself to its true home in heaven.
As you go deep with the Lord, His affection captures your heart to pray for others like Paul did: “God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:8-9). Focus on the depth of your relationship with Him and He will take care of the breadth of relationship with others. “Am I focused on my depth of intimacy with God and trusting Him with my breadth of influence with others?”
Related Readings: Psalm 63:1; Daniel 2:22; 2 Corinthians 2:4; 1 Timothy 3:9
Source: Wisdom Hunters by Boyd Bailey
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