God is a Necessity not a Convenience

This past Sunday, the preacher asked a question that rocked me. He asked, “Is God a convenience for you or a necessity?” When God becomes a necessity to us, then we will see His hand become more prominent in our lives. Sadly, for most of us, God is a convenience that we use when we need Him. I wonder what would happen if we allowed ourselves to be used by Him when He needed us?

How do we know if he is a convenience to us? These things will tell you.

1. We want intimacy without relationship

The world has made it the norm to have intimacy with others without having to have a relationship with them. Somehow we think that we can take that same philosophy into our relationship with God. Yes, He wants to use you, but He also wants to spend time with you.

Anyone who is continuously used by God, continuously spends time with Him. He is not looking for us to just have that daily time where we throw all our prayers up to heaven and hope some make it past the ceiling. He wants us to sit down at His feet like Mary and to listen to Him.

2. We don’t step out in faith

We expect others to step out in faith to help us, but we don’t allow ourselves to step out in faith to help others. When you step out in faith, it is raw dependence on Him. There is no shelter for you. You become completely vulnerable and unprotected. God wants you in that place with Him where you will hear His voice, step out of a boat in the middle of a storm and walk on water.

Any one of the twelve men in that boat could have climbed out and walked with Jesus. Only one was willing to take that step of faith. Later Jesus told him (Peter) that he would build His church on him. It wasn’t because he had it all together. None of us do. It was because he knew Peter was willing to trust Him and step out when He said to step out. Faith is stepping out not knowing the end result or how you’ll accomplish it. It’s knowing you can’t accomplish it on your own.

3. We need Him less than our next breath

When you need God more than your next breath, things will start to happen. Paul understood this concept. He said that to live was Christ and to die was gain. He knew that his next breath didn’t matter as much as his relationship with God. It’s that raw dependence on God that He wants from us.

That kind of dependence will get you to step out of that boat in the middle of a storm and trust Him with your life. We often say that we trust Him with our life, but we live like our trust is in the things we posses. They make us feel secure, but that security is a lie.

When we learn to make God a necessity in our life, we will change the world. We will do greater things than Jesus did. We will live an overcoming life and others will be able to notice.

What steps can you take today to make that change in your life where God becomes less of a convenience to you and more of a necessity? It won’t happen over night, but taking that first step in faith to make it happen will get you on your way to the life He wants you to live.