God is a familiar face

Personal Photo: I took this photo years ago, when I was running in high school. Running was a safe place for me, a place where I found God around every bend, helping me sort through things, push myself, and more. He is like the familiar feeling of lacing up my shoes and the smell of the dirt and trees. There is no judgement, just a place to find peace. He is always the light between the trees for me, the burst of sunshine at the end of a trail, the cozy daytime above all of the woods I find myself in.

To be completely honest with you all, I had a different idea in mind for this week's article topic. However, it took a turn towards something that I think we can easily forget. When I began this blog, almost a year ago (already!), my entire goal was to connect with people. I wanted people who were hesitant about going to church, and those reluctant about putting all their metaphorical eggs into God's basket to be able to feel the love of God right in their homes. Comfort zones can be our safe places, they can be were we hide from things we do not think we are ready for yet, however, they can also be very dangerous. If we exclude everything from our comfort zone, except for what we already have accepted, then we find no way to grow. I wanted to connect with people who were long-term believers of Christ, those who were finding their footing in faith, and those who were just curious about God. My whole goal was to begin connection between us all through a little blossom of joy.

With that being said, I make an attempt every week (hopefully successfully!), to consider the ways we can all relate to each other. We are all unique, we are all given gifts from God, He loves every one of us, and we all go through ups and downs, trials and joys, and so on throughout life. And even though our valuable perspective and stories are all one-of-a-kind, we can see that as an opportunity to appreciate each other, God, and ourselves. The first step in being able to connect through God, is to be able to go to Him.

It sounds so simple right? Of course we are able to pray, able to ask for things, able to have an intimate relationship, or even just a basic relationship with the Lord. We are able to drop our burdens onto Him, able to seek Him out in all spaces and in all times, and so on. So what holds us back? And do not be fooled, my friends, we often are held back from doing these things. How do I know? Because we all do it. We carry around worry, stress, grief, pride, feelings of isolation and rejection, and more, which is completely unnecessary when we are able to go to God for every single one of those things. We are held back, mostly by ourselves. Yes, the devil is in there, encouraging us to stay away, tempting us with the trends and social acceptance of the world, and pushing onto us that God does not love us, He does not forgive us, and that we are better and more capable without Him.

However, we have to actually listen to the devil for his words to keep us glued to one spot, prevent us from seeking out the Lord, and stop us from listening to the Holy Spirit. In this way, we hold ourselves back from God. When this happens, we fail to remember that God is a familiar face. He is not a stranger to us, absolutely not. God crafted each one of us, He knows our every thought, He understands our temptations, and He loves us, despite our sins, our failures, our distance from Him.

I think often times, the Holy Spirit urges us with a thought, a feeling, a distant desire that we should come to the Lord. It is easy to find excuses to put His voice to rest. We are overwhelmingly busy with the hustle and bustle of life, we cannot seem to focus on the message of church or a religious platform, we have a hard time feeling heard and understood, we have children, friends, work, spouses, grandchildren, and more that take up so much of our time, we are exhausted and fall asleep before we can have a chance to go to Him, and so on. You see how simple it is to avoid going to Him. However, that voice of the Holy Spirit is still within us, silently pulling us to Christ, reminding us that He is no stranger, that we are always able to come to Him, able to make time for Him, able to bring ourselves, and all that comes with us, to Him.

I asked above, why we do not go to God? And the reality is that we all find reasons to not go to God, no matter what stage we are in of our spiritual journey. We can fall away from a long and close walk beside Him, and find ourselves trying to take care of it all alone. We can have too many abstract questions without enough scientific answers to be able to jump into His arms. We can feel as though we are not loved by God because of the hardships and struggles we have endured and feel in able to face Him. And I titled this article 'God is a familiar face' because He is a Friend to us, regardless of what stage we are in, of how many sins we have committed, how many questions we have, how we might be angry with Him due to our grief or our earthly frustration, and so on. In Isaiah 1:18, He quells the reasoning that we cannot come to Him because we are too sinful. He states, “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” He never turns His back on us, even if we have done things that we are embarrassed by, ashamed of, or regret. And similarly, He never turns His back on us if we have not prayed in awhile, if we have not read His scripture, if we have fallen away from our routine with Him. He addresses every excuse that we may use when we forget that we are able to come to Him when He says in John 6:37, “Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away.” Christ's door is an open one, and He reminds us that He will not turn His back on us, not for any reason.

Now that I have made this statement, expressed that God is not a stranger, but indeed a Friend, I want to consider how that makes a difference to us. What do we do with this information, how does it change our lives, and why should we continue to remind ourselves of it? We are told in Matthew 11:28 to “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The truth that God is our friend, our lighthouse in a storm, changes, in short, everything. In this verse, God recognizes how exhausting living in this world is, and He addresses it by reminding us not only that we are able to come to Him, but that we should come to Him. This really is the key. If we know that we are able, but ignore that we should, we fail. And similarly, if we know we should, but we do not feel as though we are able, we fail equally. Therefore, when we are held back from coming to Christ, when we feel as though we are unable to bring ourselves and our emotions, worries, sins, and all the rest to Him, when we forget that we should come to the Lord and He will strengthen us, give us rest, and help us, we can remind ourselves of this verse. We can remind ourselves that God is a familiar face. The Lord is the friend that it does not matter how long it has been since we have last talked to them, but we can pick up right where we left off and find an understanding smile, a shoulder to cry on, a place to feel safe, and an ear to listen. He is not a stranger.

Breaking down the action of coming to Christ into both the ability and the direction that we should helps paint the step by step of why God is a familiar face. He directly tells us to come to Him, as we are, which explains that we do not need to try and clean ourselves before coming to God, for He will clean us. We do not need be better people before realizing we are able to seek Him, for He will make us better people. We do not need to change who we are to be accepted by God, for He will change us to be more like Him. The reality is that without Him, we are unclean, we are sinful people, and we are unable to grow and change for the better. Realizing that we need Him helps remind us that we are both able to come to Him, and that we should come to Him. A relationship with the Lord is nothing to fear, for He will welcome us with open arms, forgive us, and guide us, along with being a Companion, a Teacher, and a loving Father.

I know it sounds simple, but the love of God is not complicated. We are able to go to the Lord. And we should go to Him. Connecting these two principles inherently reminds us that God is a familiar face to us, no matter how much time has passed between coming to Him, no matter how broken or lost we feel, and no matter our past. We are told in Matthew 5:3-6, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” He promises here that when we have questions, hesitations, and trials throughout life, when we find our way to Him, we are met with joy, excitement, and overwhelming peace and acceptance.

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