The Right To A Relationship With God

I believe that everyone in this world has the right to a relationship with God. I believe one can choose to be with Him and that when they do so they make God real in their lives. I believe that each person�s relationship with God is different.

I believe that there are many different ways to worship and believe in God. I was raised in a church which believed it was the only true church. However, that isn�t what the Bible tells us. (I Cor. 12:12-30) We who believe in and on God are the body of the church and our different methods of worship separate us into denominations.

When I was 20, I was in Norway on tour with my university�s choral group. It was a Lutheran school and we were booked in many Lutheran churches for our performances. I first understood the reality of the passage in I Corinthians at a church service there.

The minister was giving his sermon in a language I didn�t understand and the congregants were listening attentively. I watched the people and the minister and examined the old, stone church. There was a feeling of warmth, acceptance and love throughout that building. As I listened to the words I couldn�t understand, I realized that these people believed they were worshipping God the right way. I spent many days after that, pondering my own church�s claim that it was the only true church.

If God Himself said that there were many parts to His church, who was I to say that one specific church was better than another? I paid attention to how many different churches claimed they were the only true church and it reminded me of puppies tumbling over one another to get to the food. Jesus already told us about claiming to be more important than the others. (Mark 10:35-45)

If everyone believes they are the only one, no one is right. Since Jesus interacts with me personally and gives me insight which does not apply to other peoples� lives, I assume that He does the same for them. It is not my job to tell someone else what they are doing right or wrong. I can only suggest solutions that work or worked in my life.

There are so many people who seem to want an �off the rack� kind of Christianity. I have never been comfortable in an �off the rack� world. I need special clothes. I need special shoes. I need special rings and accompaniments. I believe that a relationship with Jesus works the same way.

I need a custom-tailored relationship with Jesus. He has seen that need in me and has provided me with that special contact. If you want a specific relationship with God, all you have to do is ask for it and then listen to what he tells you. He will not fail you.

Conclusion

There was such a long period of my life where everything was painful. My life became so painful that I stopped feeling. I had shut down in every possible way and I rejected almost everything I had ever believed about God.

One night, however, I prayed to my God. I asked Him to help me. I told Him that I knew I needed to change my life and I knew that I wasn�t doing it right, but I just didn�t have the strength to change. I asked Him to give me a kick start.

I didn�t actually expect anything to change. I didn�t expect God to affect change in my life. I expected to go on living the way I was; just an existence. There really was no life to me.

I spent ten years, from February of 1988 through January of 1998, in varying stages of depression ranging from suicidal to too depressed to be suicidal. During the last two years of that time, a period where my depression was so completely that I ceased to function in any normal fashion, I had no voluntary contact with God.

The day after I asked God for a kick start I was in a serious auto wreck which deposited me in a hospital for nearly a month. I was then sent to my parents� home for the twenty-four hour care I needed. While in the hospital, I was the subject of many prayer groups. I was anointed by my child-hood minister. I was prayed over constantly. While in my parents� home, I was prayed over and Mom spent many hours sharing Bible study time with me.

Throughout my recovery I was immersed in spiritual protection. Due to this, I again found my way to God. I listened to Him and talked with Him. Though I relapsed for a brief time, returning to my old habits and finding depression quickly assailing me, I remembered God and prayed to Him for guidance.

Over the past three years I have remained within God. I have called upon Him and I have openly and happily accepted Jesus as my brother, husband, Lord and leader. I have healed completely because of this contact with Jesus. The pain and anguish which had been so completely destructive are gone. The damage they did is gone.

There is a specific song which describes how I feel. This song is performed by Tim McGraw, a Country artist, but when applied to Jesus, the words are perfect. The following is the chorus.

�No one ever left me out in the rain. Cold words still remain unspoken. And I never got lost, spent years in the dark. You�re here, now my heart�s unbroken. When I see your smile fill my soul again, I�m unbroken.�

It brings tears to my eyes to remember how desolate I was. I remember how lost and alone I was. And yet, because of the mercy of my God and King, I am unbroken. I am whole. I am at peace. I am complete.

I can�t convince you that God is the only way to life. I can�t convince you that being without Him was killing me. I can�t convince you that I am better now that I have Jesus living within me. But I feel the difference. I know where I was and where I went. I know that if Jesus loves me enough to pull me out of that, nothing can ever break me.

So, who is the Lord my God? He is my savior, my husband, my constant companion. He gave me life, not once or twice but three times. He keeps me safe and secure and nestled close to His chest. He loves me, He really loves me. If He can love me, He can love anyone.

In closing I would like to offer you a choice. You don�t have to believe what I do. You don�t have to believe anything I do. Find your own reason to believe. I suggest that you take a chance of finding such complete happiness, peace and joy that you will be unable to express the difference.

Say aloud, if you will, the following. �Jesus, I want to know you. I want to know that you are real. I want to feel your peace and joy. Gently and kindly show yourself to me. Make me happy.�

What have you got to lose, a few seconds? Think about what you could gain. Allow Jesus to show you who He is. Allow Him to affect positive change in your life.