Have you ever been in a situation and
had no idea why God placed you there
? Maybe you’ve been moved to a new town, or put in situation that you don’t understand? I know it can feel like, “What the heck are you up to, God?” and yet
the reason never comes.
Sometimes we have a hunger to know God more, to understand His movings, and to have greater intimacy with Him but don’t know how to get there. Don’t be discouraged when this happens! Today I want to propose to you that God doesn’t intend for you to be stuck in a place of not knowing the “why,” and He actually wants to draw you into closer friendship.
HOW GOD TAUGHT ME ABOUT FRIENDSHIP WITH HIMY
ears ago on I had one of those Sunday nights that was just really good; the message went well and I was prophesying over people and they were crying (which was a general sign that it was going well, ha!) I went home on a high and that night lay in bed and heard God laughing and say, “That was a good word YOU gave that lady at the end.” I started to get worried, and apologized to God for getting so caught up in the moment. I went from a high to a quick low. He laughed and said, “Oh that’s okay, I’ll take care of it.” I said, “How are you going to take care of it?!” and He replied, “What kind of a friend would I be if I only ever did what I wanted?” Ten years later I found a verse that made more sense of this in 1 Samuel 3:19; “Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail.”
I’m not saying you can prophesy whatever you want. I’m simply saying that God wants us to move into a place of friendship, where we abide in Him and His words abide in us, so that we can ask whatever we wish and it will be done.
WHAT IF YOU COULD KNOW HIM MORE?
How would you like to have a relationship with God where prayer is an interchange with Him, and the outcomes are a homogenization of His will with your will? How would you like a friendship with the Lord where He lets you in on His secrets and tells you the “why” behind things?
Check out this week’s Flashback Friday video so I can explain:
In a nutshell:
• John 15:14-15 says, “You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
• If Jesus says that no longer does He call us slaves, it means that at one time He did.
• How do you know if you’re a slave? You just do what you’re told.
• Slaves love to be told what to do because this is their M.O.
• Slaves only know what to do, they don’t know why they’re doing it. The highest level of a life as a slave is just to obey.
• You can stay a slave, or you can let God prune you. Verse 14 says, “You are My friends if you do what I command you.”
• Revelation is not the child of laborious effort and searching the Scriptures. I’d like to propose to you that revelation is the child of friendship.
• People wonder how Bill Johnson gets all of his revelation and how many hours he studies the Bible. Well I know Bill studies well, but I believe He has access to that revelation because He has become a friend of God.
• Revelation can’t be studied it can only be revealed.
• In other words, as long as you’re a slave God’s going to make sure you don’t know everything. Why? Because the lesson of slavery is testing if you can obey (and trust) God when you don’t know WHY He’s doing what He’s doing.
• Once you move into friendship, then you know all things. Jesus said EVERYTHING the Father taught Him, He wants to make known to you.
• God wants us to move from slavery into friendship. But you can’t go from saved to friend. You can only go from saved, to slave to friend.
• You move from slavery to friendship by abiding in a word that prunes you, and letting it take off the things that aren’t fruitful in your life. When you submit to that process then you become a friend to God.
LEARN FROM YOUR SEASON
If you’re reading this and thinking that you’re living in a slave camp then I want to encourage you with two practical keys today:
1. Be present. Although it’s easy to jump ahead and want to know everything about your life, all the answers to the world’s problems and your questions for God, it’s important that you remember to stay present in your season. If you see yourself as a slave then you likely won’t move out of that place until you learn the lessons of obedience and trust, without knowing all of the details. So don’t get ahead of yourself. Be present and know that there’s purpose in the now. Let go of the need to control and understand everything.
2. Lean into the process. I know pruning isn’t the most fun process to go through but I promise it’s worth it. You see, there’s a big destiny on your life, and unhealthiness can get in the way of you fully walking in that… whether it’s fears, a perfectionist mentality, control issues, or maybe immaturity… we all have things to work through and it’s important that you lean into the pruning God is doing in this season. There are things you need to learn now that will set you up for success in the next season. Learn to trust Him when you don’t know the WHY behind things, so that He can trust you with even greater revelation. Friendship is reciprocated trust after all.
So what is God telling you to do in this season? How do you see yourself becoming a greater friend to Him? I’d love to hear what you’re thinking in the comments below!
If you’re interested in hearing the full message that this video clip came from, check out this link on Bethel TV
.
