Our fondest dreams for this life, the ones we naturally believe are essential to our happiness, must be fully abandoned if we are to know God well.
But we cannot abandon them without help. The help we need, most often, is suffering, the pain of seeing at least a few of our fondest dreams shattered.
— Larry Crabb, Shattered Dreams, p. 52
We don’t know on any given day all that’s playing into why we can’t seem to hear from God. . . . But I do know this: it can’t be the verdict of how I’m doing with God or how he feels about me in this moment. . . .
My ability to hear God’s voice on any given day does not change my position in Christ one bit. I share this because the last thing I want to introduce into your faith is shame or doubt or some other attack because you’re not hearing clearly right now. Taking the journey toward an intimacy with God that includes conversational intimacy is a beautiful thing, full of surprises and gifts from him.
But it can also send us reeling if we are basing our relationship with God on our ability to hear from him in this moment or on this particular issue. . . .
So, if you’re not yet hearing, don’t worry. It’s okay. Keep praying. Keep listening. Notice what God might be up to other than answering the immediate question.
— John Eldredge, Walking with God, p. 48-50
We do know that no man can be saved except through Christ; we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through Him.
— C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
The scandalousness of God’s indiscriminate forgiveness hits us even harder when we are called on to imitate it. When we need to forgive, most of us, perhaps unconsciously, feel entitled to draw a circle around the scope of forgiveness. We should forgive some, maybe even most, wrongdoings, but certainly not all.
Maybe we think unintentional offenses are forgivable, and deliberate ones are not. But how would we draw the line? How intentional would the offense need to be? If the offense were truly unintentional, there would be something to be sorry about but nothing to forgive; it was just an accident. Or maybe we think small offenses are forgivable, and horrendous ones are not. But again, where would we draw the line? An offense is an offense and has as much right to be forgiven as any other, which is no right at all. No line separates offenses that should be forgiven from those that should not. There are no unforgivable sins.
— Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge, p. 178-179
I’m back to the shepherd and the sheep. When the sheep follow the shepherd, they find pasture. They find life. Life doesn’t just magically come to us. We have to make ourselves available to it. There is a lifestyle that allows us to receive the life of God. I know that if I will live more intimately with Jesus and follow his voice, I will have a much better chance of finding the life I long for. I know it. If I will listen to his voice and let him set the pace, if I will cooperate in my transformation, I will be a much happier man. And so a new prayer has begun to rise within me. I am asking God, What is the life you want me to live?
— John Eldredge, Walking with God, p. 28
“When all of this comes to pass, My word to you is this: Do not lose hope. A plan is unfolding that you cannot clearly see. If you could see it as I do, you would still hurt, but you would not lose hope. You would gladly remain faithful to Me in the middle of the worst suffering. I guarantee you the power to please Me, not to have a good time. But pleasing Me will bring you great joy.
“In the deepest part of your soul, you long more than anything else to be a part of My plan, to further My kingdom, to know Me and please Me and enjoy Me. I will satisfy that longing. You have the power to represent Me well no matter what happens in your life. That is the hope I give you in this world. Don’t lose it.”
— Larry Crabb, Shattered Dreams: God’s Unexpected Pathway to Joy, p. 46
Jesus says that as our Good Shepherd, he is leading us. What an encouraging thought. Jesus is leading you, and he is leading me. He is shepherding us. I can feel something in my heart loosening even now as I consider this. Okay, I don’t have to make life happen on my own. Now, if Christ takes it upon himself to lead, then our part is to follow. And you’ll find that it helps a great deal in your following if you know what God is up to. . . .
Whatever else is going on, we can know this: God is always up to our transformation. . . .
God has something in mind. He is deeply and personally committed to restoring humanity. Restoring you. He had a specific man or woman in mind when he made you. By bringing you back to himself through the work of Jesus Christ, he has established relationship with you. And now, what he is up to is restoring you. . . .
Oh, the joy, the utter relief it would be to be transformed. That in itself would be more happiness than most of us ever experience. And — as if that were not enough — it would free us to live the life God has for us to live.
My friends, this is what God’s up to. This is where our Shepherd is headed. Whatever else is going on in our lives, this is going on. He is committed to our transformation. So, if this is what God’s up to, wouldn’t it make sense that we be more intentional in partnering with him in our transformation?
— John Eldredge, Walking with God, p. 19-21
An intimate, conversational walk with God is available. Is normal, even. Or, at least, is meant to be normal. I’m well aware that a majority of people do not enjoy that . . . yet. But it is certainly what God desires and what he offers. My assumption is based on the nature of God and the nature of man made in his image. We are communicators. My assumption is also based on the nature of relationship — it requires communication. It is based on the long record of God speaking to his people of various ranks in all sorts of situations. And finally, it is based on the teachings of Jesus, who tells us that we hear his voice.
— John Eldredge, Walking with God, p. 17-18
Intimacy with God is the purpose of our lives. It’s why God created us. Not simply to believe in him, though that is a good beginning. Not only to obey him, though that is a higher life still. God created us for intimate fellowship with himself, and in doing so he established the goal of our existence — to know him, love him, and live our lives in an intimate relationship with him. Jesus says that eternal life is to know God (John 17:3). Not just “know about” like you know about the ozone layer or Ulysses S. Grant. He means know as two people know each other, know as Jesus knows the Father — intimately.
— John Eldredge, Walking with God, p. 12
God means His children to look to Him for the fulfillment of their human needs. The great, pulsing Father-Mother-Lover-Savior heart of God holds all that the human heart — even the single human heart — can desire.
— Margaret Clarkson, So You’re Single, p. 125