08. Don’t Put Me at Arm’s Length

 


God’s Bucket List for You, part 3

 

Introduction

Many people have this idea that God only exists in the local church building. Or that He’s only paying attention to what you’re doing on Sundays. But, at the same time, when you get in a crisis, you call out to Him for help. Once the crisis is over, you no longer have a need for Him, until the next time.

God doesn’t want you to put Him at arm’s length and it’s a good idea that you don’t. There may come a time when God isn’t on your side because you weren’t on His side.

 

Train Up a Child…

In Proverbs 22:6, it is written, Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Some parents see this as a statement ‘written in stone’. They can’t fathom the possibility that their child would depart from God when they become an adult.

God has given us the ability to be free-thinking agents; allows us to make our own decisions. Even with all of the teachings that are instilled in children in their youth, they still might rebel when they get older.

If they don’t leave the faith altogether, they might just keep God’s at arm’s length and only call on Him when they deem it necessary. Help your children to understand that He, and His Word, are necessary on a daily basis (Eph. 6:4). No decision shouldn’t be made without consulting God first (Col. 3:1-2; James 4:15)

 

God is…

Omnipresent

Since the creation of the world, God is everywhere, and with everyone, all of the time; 24/7/365. This can be seen as a positive aspect and negative one based on the type of person you are.

David wrote of this in Psalms 139:7-12, Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me," Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

As stated before, to some this is seen as a comfort; God is always there and one can reach out to Him in a moment’s notice. Others will see this as awful as they can’t get away from ‘God’s prying eyes’.

Omniscient

Not only does God know what we are thinking, he knows why we are thinking it. Nothing is hidden from God; even if you are alone in your house away from other humans, God is there and knows what you are about to do.

The Psalmist wrote in Psalms 44:21, Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. Paul wrote of this to the church in Rome, in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel (Romans 2:16). And the writer of Hebrews had to say, And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13).

 

Conclusion

In Romans 8:31 Paul wrote, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? If we want God there whenever we need Him, we need to be there for God when He needs us.

Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” If you really love God, like you say you do, then you will obey His commandments (Mt. 7:21-23) as written in His word. Don’t keep him at arm’s length.

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