Living to the Next Level Sample

With all of the talk today about breakthroughs and miracles and getting to new levels in life, we so often miss the point. We thought our struggles were about whether we succeeded in achieving some finite set of goals or made enough money to own investment prop­erty. We’ve fought our battles as if they were over externals, and we’ve kept our eyes on the prizes and rewards of this world. Meanwhile, God has been wooing us, calling to us, and trying to let us know what life’s really all about. The "next level", the journey, the substance of life, and who we are—these are all about walking with God and sharing an intimate friendship with our Creator.

While many of us have entered into friendship with God through Jesus Christ, we may not be experiencing a vibrant, intimate relationship with Him. Maybe you simply haven’t realized that God wants to be close to you. The Bible calls Abraham “the friend of God,” but could God the Creator really want the same for us today? Maybe you hav­en’t been able to picture what a friendship with God should look like. Since you haven’t known how to enjoy intimacy with God, you’ve lan­guished, knowing Him only from a distance, experiencing emptiness in your heart and a longing you haven’t quite been able to identify.

Paul wrote that he considered everything in his life to be garbage when compared to loving and being loved by God. “That I may know Him,” Paul wrote of Jesus (Philippians 3:10, ESV). That he may know Him. That was Paul’s heart’s desire. Is it yours?

Right now, where you are, you can turn to God in your heart and decide to make knowing Him intimately your life’s priority. God wants to be known. Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20, NASB). Will you open to His love? You can say, “Lord, I’m sorry I’ve been distant. I understand my purpose better now, and I want to develop a heart for friendship with You. I want to know You intimately. I want to walk with You and experience what it’s like to be close. Please teach me and help me.”

The Bible promises that, as we draw near to God, He will draw near to us (James 4:8). You’ve just moved toward God. Now, take a moment to thank God, in faith, for moving toward you. By focusing on our first next-level heart attitude—a heart for friendship with God—and putting that friendship first, you have set your heart in agreement with God’s will for your life. He will move heaven and earth to help you grow in intimacy with Him. He will show you the path of life. He created you to know Him, and He will make Himself known.