Do you know Him like that?

 If He seems far off … then ask Him to come near.

If He is near … then ask Him to come in.

If He is in you … then ask Him to be your friend and guide.

If He is your friend and guide … then ask Him to also be your love.

If He is your love … then ask Him to be the absolute love of your life: your delight, your    

rest, your peace, your haven, your hope, your joy, your destiny.

He loves to be asked, addressed, invited, included, investigated.

     Of all the encouraging feedback from one of my books, Leap of Faith, most comments had to do with one chapter in particular, in which I expounded upon the lessons found in Joshua 3. We find the Israelites facing a daunting obstacle called the River Jordan. Many men and women have generously e-mailed, written letters, or personally shared about crossing their own “river of impossibility” and it gave me a lot to think about. What is it that causes some people to persevere through hardships while others seem to be swallowed by forces and circumstances that cannot be foreseen or controlled? And how about the adverse situations we can control or those we actually create? Why do similar scenarios have such strikingly different consequences?

     Do you know Him? Or do you simply know about Him? God calls to each one of us. How will we respond? When I responded to Him many years ago, I had no way of knowing what battles awaited me, nor did I anticipate the beauty marks that would emerge as a result. Today, I am deeply inspired and greatly encouraged to display those beauty marks. Maybe like me, you too possess a few of them, but there are certainly more you would love to have. Like the sweet fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians 5, you can never have too many spiritual beauty marks.

“Search me O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24).