The month of December in our church is dedicated to knowing God and to reinforcing personal relationships with Him.
Very often in December, as the New Year approaches, believers look to God for special blessings. Most people ask God for miracles, signs, and for the fulfillment of certain promises. We tend to focus our attention on material things; on our desire to get what we want from God. Although all these things may be important, we must always remember that the main focus in life is to learn how to develop a personal relationship with God and not simply to receive various blessings and miracles from Him.
Every Christian ought to learn how to walk with God and build personal relationships with Him. We must make this our priority; the basis and the foundation of our Christian life.
Every believer, after waking up in the morning, should enter into a place of solitude and intimacy; a regular place or a created atmosphere for personal communication with their Creator. At such a time, it is as though you lose awareness of your physical environment. You think about nothing other than your God. You zoom your attention in on your personal walk with the Lord.
It is the time when a believer practices the personal presence of God around him, when he can imagine himself before Him.
It is the time when we can imagine Jesus and see His nail-pierced feet and hands, when we can break down before Him and humble ourselves in repentance.
We ought to practice such times of solitude; both when everything is going smoothly and when everything is rough, when everything is going according to plan and when things are not going as we desire. We should learn to walk closely and personally with God.
We can draw this lesson from Enoch’s life.
“Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begat Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:21-24)
After man had lost his relationship with God in the Garden of Eden, Enoch was the first man who rediscovered the secret of walking and having a close relationship with God. His example is able to remind us that close, personal, relationships with God are the foundation of our life. This is what Adam and Eve originally had in the Garden of Eden. When everything was going well they were with God, they talked with Him. When the problem of sin arose they did not forsake God. This shows us that our personal relationships with God should not be replaced with anything else. It is the basis for all other things.
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
God created us in His Own image and likeness, primarily for us to communicate with Him.
“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8)
God came to the Garden of Eden and communicated with them. The Lord did that both before and after the fall of man. He did not cease talking with them.
Though Adam and Eve had their own assignments in the garden, they still met with God. Even their work could not steal their practice of personal relationship and communication with their Creator. Actually, during their work God was with them, so they were never really apart. Initially, Adam was alone as God walked and talked with him. When God gave him a wife, their communication and personal relationships did not come to an end. This is an example and a hint for us that nothing should separate us from personal communion with God. We must not allow anything to steal our precious time of personal fellowship with God.
“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” (Genesis 2:18-19)
Personal time with God in the Garden of Eden was the priority; it was a constant component in the lives of the first human beings on the earth. Neither work nor creating a family interrupted their communication with God. Even sin could not get in the way. Adam and Eve continued seeking God and building their personal walk with Him!
A permanent relationship with God is the priority of our life. Whether there are desired blessings in our life or not, we still ought to continue developing our relationship with God. We should decide for ourselves once and for all that our times with God will be our priority.
This lesson is brought out clearly in Enoch’s life.
“Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begat Methuselah. After he begat Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:21-24)
Enoch brought forth a new people. He walked with God and gave life to a whole new generation of people who prioritized their personal relationships with God. At the beginning of his life and even when he was middle-aged, Enoch was unaware of this secret of personal relationships with God; however, he later adopted a new culture of walking with God. As a result, Enoch did not see death. God Himself lifted him up to heaven.
May God give us the grace to have such a lifestyle; to learn to walk with God by faith. Even if the whole world turns against us and refuses to walk with God as they did in Enoch’s day, we still ought to behave like Enoch. Let us not give our attention to distracting moments around us but let us seek the face of God and crave for fellowship with Him. Let us do this not only to get something from God but above all to be friends with Him, communicate with him, be interested in His opinion, and His desires. Let us strive to please Him while we are living here on the Earth.
As the New Year approaches, we all have a great opportunity to seek God, to know His will, His intentions for our lives in the coming year and to please Him. If we know His will and His desires, it will be easier for us to do that.
May God bless you! Happy New Year!
With love and honor,
Senior Pastor of the “Embassy of God” church
Sunday Adelaja
Translated by Vera Kozlovets
Edited by Kizito Leacock
Recommended books to read:
- “Understanding God” by Sunday Adelaja
- ” The Jesus you never knew” by Sunday Adelaja
- “How to hear the God’s voice” by Sunday Adelaja
- “Equipped with strength” by Sunday Adelaja
- “Carrier of God’s presence” by Sunday Adelaja