The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 6 – Starting a conversation with God

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 6 – Starting a conversation with God

Ultimate happiness can only be experienced when we are in the presence of God and talking to Him, like He talked to Adam and Eve in Paradise, in the coolness of day.

But, Paradise was lost due to no fault of God, and He is presently working hard to restore that and to restore Mankind to its proper place in the Universe, ruling with Him.

The fall of Man led to a lot of impediments in the conversation between God and Man, but it should not worry us, because we can come very near to a normal conversation in our present daily lives, if we pursue a conversation with God with dedication, resilience, persistence, patience and passion.

So,  in the previous part of this series,  we have come to read through the Bible's sixty six books. God's love letter to us.

But, we find it strange to just start talking to God, and to hear God talking to us, because we do not know His language, or even better, His love language.

We start off with prayer, which of course we should, but find, if we listen to our prayers, that it is just about lamenting our unfavourable life conditions, exposing our problems and wrong desires, and we end it off by petitioning God to get that right for us poste haste, as in now, please, whilst it was our stupid, wilful and ungodly actions that got us into that mess in the first place.

If we wish to lament, do not lament in prayer. Rather read the Book of Lamentations in the Bible aloud to God, in which case you are lamenting from the Bible.

In fact, shortly after my conversion and dedication to God, He started to test me to see whether I was in it for the long haul, enjoying both good and not so good times with Him – in sickness and in death as the marriage vow says, because we are groomed for our marriage to the Lamb of God.

It is much like Job rebuffed his wife on his condition of woe, when he was tested:

And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 

But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. 

I read chapter 3 of that book almost every day when things got really tough and I could not see my way forward, with myself and with God. It is one of the most beautiful chapters in the Bible, and prose at its best:

I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. 

He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. 

He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked. He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. 

He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day. He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes. 

And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity. And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD: Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 

It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 

I took this lamentation for myself once, realising my hopelessness without God, and returned to enjoy His mercies and compassion again. In fact, if you read the above with the suffering of  Christ in mind, you get the feeling of how he was crucified fully as Man and not as God. His dedication and resilience was tested in full.

What we should know from the start is that we are not here to ask for our desires in the first place, like the Prosperity teaching of some tele-pastors in the USA, who live in luxury and in falseness, just wanting to know when they will be getting their new jet aircraft and mansion which God promised or owed them, on which grounds, I would not know.

We should first ask God what His desire is for us, and how we can bring our free will into line with His. We are the servants, vessels and vassals. He is the King. It is not the other way round, although God also serves in a Big Way.

In the following article I will elaborate on how to ‘Strike up a conversation with God’. It is not so much different than striking up a conversation with a stranger or one we have not met before. Try it.

There must be an introduction, telling God who you are, finding out what He is about, and what His interests and passions are. I think this is an excellent way to start such conversation with God.

The problem for us is that God cannot be physically seen, but otherwise there is no limit in our conversation with God. Regard Him as someone who lives very far away, like one of your relatives you have not seen for decades, or like a stranger living in a far away country that you may never see. The truth is that God is living on Earth, and it does not matter where He lives, as we have the means of communicating with Him despite this. We know by now how virtual meetings work. His presence is all over the planet. He is fulltime on the internet, so to speak.

One sided instructions to God is totally warped and skew. God knows, better than we do, what our needs are. We should start to rectify that by giving God a fair chance to talk to us and by listening intently to him. I know He has a lot to say, though His words may be few.

Of course that will not be easy. Talking to anyone from this physical world we live in over the protective barrier shielding us from the spiritual and partly evil world, has strict boundaries, terms and conditions. It is not a free for all, but fortunately we will be talking to the Creator of both these worlds, and we can be sure He will go the extra mile to talk to us, if we want Him to.

And … there are also some impediments to our conversation. In Heaven, Martial Law applies, as there is a vicious War raging between the forces of Good and of Evil. That makes it a bit more difficult, because information being exchanged between God and us are eavesdropped and the forces of evil use this information to organize resistance, doubt and confusion.

In this article I wish to elaborate somewhat about that War, so that we are ready to be enlisted in that War and to follow protocols and instructions about secret and personal information and rasks.

Our challenge in this is set out in Job 33:

For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain: So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat. His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out. Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers. If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness: Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth: He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness. He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.  

This is the challenge I wish you to take it up with God. It is worthwhile and it works, and I can testify to that. I took up that challenge seriously when God came my way forty six years ago. It started with baby steps and it is a path full of doubt and even despair some days, but it is a path worth taking and I have not rued it for one day.

The reasons for the difficulty are quite easy to understand, if we understand the War that is going on between the forces of God and of Satan. There is a lot of clamour in the din of war, a lot of background noise, confusion, delusion and impersonation. God cannot tell us the ins and outs of that War, as He cannot give away His War plan. Satan has lots of spies who listen to every word God whispers into our ears, so to speak.

More serious and real is the fact that God may not expose Himself fully, as it will expose His vulnerability. It may be strange for you to hear about the vulnerability of God. It is there and it is true and you may wish to believe me or not. I have experienced that, but will not go into that for now.

You have read in the Bible that God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have visited many people in person, in visions and in words. He still does it today. He even takes people to one of His seven heavens to talk to them or to talk to some of His angels. You may wish to read the NDE’s (Near Death Experiences) of people who came back to life after such a visit. No more of this for now. 

Get used to the war, noise and clamour of cavalry and swords, thunder and lightning, death and destruction, coded messages and background noise.

If you gain insight into and acquire knowledge of the physical world and spiritual worlds, you will know that a Holy War is raging in both domains. A War for supremacy in each domain, and a war for dominion over all domains. It is well documented in Scripture.

What is not so well documented are the terms and rules of engagement between the two warring factions. There are some pieces of information on the internet which are from Field Marshalls, Generals and other non-commissioned officers of Satan, which sets out the strategy of their minority troops, which are in numbers exactly half the size of the forces of God and of Heaven. It is a legal, spiritual and vicious battle in which people may and do sell their lives and services to Satan for some dubious benefits, all contractually agreed, enforced and beware if you do not comply. Satan kills. God gives life. This is simple and easy to understand. There are also stories and operas on this aspect of selling yourself down the river to Satan. Faust is one of them.  

What is very reassuring for us though, is that the forces of Satan wears no armour, as they do not have any of the raw materials that make up armour or arms. Such materials are set out in Scripture:

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Satan’s forces have nothing of this and they stand in harm’s way. It is quite foolish for them to enter a War zone heavily outnumbered, and with no arms or armour, only trusting the father of the lie and delusion, to protect them from sure destruction.

No commander of forces have ever been so unprepared for battle, as they are. Even as you read here they are being dealt blows of destruction by the second, and what is more, many of us who have entered that fray willingly, are dishing out those death blows in the name of Christ. I have killed and wounded many. Get ready for the fight.

You may wonder why God’s forces are so formidable, Satan’s forces so weak and why they have not been vanquished long ago. The answer is twofold.

Firstly, God is a God of love and mercy, and He is not going to annihilate Satan’s forces with in one exhortation of His might. He will be giving them three chances to repent.

·      The first chance was when Satan was cast out of Heaven when he tried to exalt his throne above the stars of God. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28.

·   His second chance will be when he will be vanquished in the Battle of Armageddon and will be thrown into the Bottomless Pit for a thousand years.

·     As if that is not enough, he is freed after a thousand years, and goes and deludes all the people in all four corners of the earth for another great battle, as there has never been, by which time the people of the earth will be numbered as the sands of the sea. He is then thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the other lost souls have sojourned under great pain, due to his instigation.

In fact, we read in Revelations 9 and 16, that they did not repent from their abominations. That includes the dwellers on Earth, Satan and his co-conspirators.

The second reason is that it is quite easy to win a war in a deceitful way, like Satan swindled the dominion of earth from Adam and Eve, because they did not dress and keep it.

If you and I wish to a buy a precious commodity, we will save up for a some years, pay for it fully and thereupon receive a receipt of good standing. Satan and his demons do not care about being in good standing. They will just steal what is yours in a moment; that which we bought at great price, labour and sweat, in line with the instructions of God to Adam and Eve, when they were cast out of Paradise.

Jesus Christ is the only one who has a receipt for paying for our redemption, and He is thus the only one in good standing.

I do not wish to dwell on that now, but mention it in passing that we should be aware of pitfalls where demons and Satan impersonate the troops of God and of Heaven. That is quite clear in Scripture where Saul consults with the witch of Endor, impersonating Samuel.

Presently that battle is mainly for possession of our souls and more specifically of people with incarnate bodies, as it is us who will rule the Kingdom of God when we are appointed as kings and priests of the Universe one day. We all know by now the parable of the talents given to three people to apply it in usury. We will not all reign over similar sections of the Universe.

Of course, we know from Revelations, which you have read by now, that the final battle for dominion over planet earth, which contains the seed of those who will rule the Universe, will be at the Battle of Armageddon and the total destruction of Satan will follow not many years after that, when Satan is dumped into the bottomless pit and into the pit of fire and brimstone.

If you start to converse with God, you will be more fully engaged in this war for the souls of mankind. There was an implied contract taken out and sealed by the blood of Christ on a hill called Mount Calvary, for the saving of our souls against the damnation Satan wants to push us into.

Now that we know this more fully, we may strike up a conversation with God in a totally safe and protected environment.

How should you start and progress on this wonderful and fulfilling rendezvous with God? This will be the subject of my next article which will be a continuation of this part.

Next time Part 7 - Starting the conversation.