invitations to intimacy

isn't it cool how the Lord speaks to us? i've noticed it more lately than ever before (which has everything to do with softness of heart and very little to do with attentiveness of my ears) that the Lord often speaks about a theme for a season of time. for example, over the past season He has been teaching me about faith.

the picture He's given me is that of a loving parent teaching their little one how to walk. think about it, if you've got kids you've done it and if you don't have kids you've seen it done: mommy is helping baby to stand up while daddy sits just far enough away to allow for a step but close enough to help with the landing. both parents are encouraging little man to take that first step and i use the term "step" loosely. usually that first step entails moving one foot slightly in front of the other then falling into daddy's arms. as soon as that happens, everybody erupts! joy fills the room and the little person is showered with love. what usually happens next? let's try it again is almost always the response. as parents we always want our kids to take that next step whether it's actually walking or whether it's steps of maturity along the way. we want our kids growing and becoming who they were made to be.

how cool is to know that God wants the same for us? He wants us to mature in our relationship with Him and wherever we are on the journey He is always inviting us to take the next step of faith towards Him. oftentimes that first step may look a little like a baby's first step but God loves it when we step out in faith and He is pleased with our attempts.

i don't know in what area you need to take a step of faith. maybe it's faith for healing. maybe it's faith for provision. maybe it's faith to let go of control. like i said, i don't know the area but what i do know is that it's an invitation that He's extending to you. the thing that He's told me about these invitations is that they are actually invitations to intimacy. every time we accept the invitation on the table we get to know Him a little deeper. we actually move closer to Him and He is able to extend another invitation to us.

a line from one of my favorite songs right now says: You (Jesus) are a deep well...You will never be exhausted. we will never be able to know all there is to know but we've got a lifetime of invitations from Him to accept and every one of them is sweet.

good times.