Chapter Excerpt

I remember the emptiness I felt in 1976 when, as a young Christian, I realized that doing the right things brought temporary happiness but not deep, satisfying joy. In those early days of my friendship with God, I could only see Him from a distance, much like the children of Israel who remained at the foot of Mount Sinai might have seen Him when He talked face to face with Moses on the top of the mountain. They could hear His voice, but to them He looked like a consuming fire.

Without a doubt, I saw God as big and powerful, and I wanted to remain safely within the borders of His provision, so I lived by the law of the church. I showed up for every meeting and signed up for multiple opportunities to serve Him, but my life was still full of irritations and aggravations that robbed me of true contentment.

Many people frustrate their search for fulfillment, as I did, because they don't know where to look for that one thing that will satisfy their desire for something more. Like most people, the children of Israel thought of satisfaction as the sense of enjoyment, security, and well-being that comes from having their physical needs met; but it is more than that. I was a Christian for several years before I understood that true inner satisfaction is the most important thing in life and that it is the result of enjoying life through the abiding presence of God.

One day I read these words of the psalmist David, who summarized life's one requirement, the one he felt was more important than anything else: "One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple" (Psalm 27:4).

David had enjoyed many opportunities to find self-worth and inner satisfaction. Empowered by the presence of God, he had killed a lion and a bear with his bare hands, and then an imposing giant although armed only with a slingshot and five small stones. God chose this anointed songwriter to become king of Israel even though he was the youngest brother of a family of men who were all more prominent than he was. His eventual fame and wealth offered all that most people might think would bring inner satisfaction.

David's pursuit of more of God, even after experiencing God's presence through many extraordinary events in his life, gave me confidence that there was much more to know about God than what I already knew. After all, even David felt the need to know God more intimately. I believe we need to continually desire intimate fellowship with God if we want to experience lasting inner joy.

I emphasize the word seek when meditating on Psalm 27:4 ("One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life") because that word appears many times in the Bible, but some people may not fully understand what it means. To seek is to desire and require, which is to crave, pursue, and go after something with all of your might.

Many people want guidance from God, but they don't crave and pursue Him or lay aside other things in order to go after a word from Him. But David narrowed down all the things that he wanted in his life to this one thing—more of God all the days of his life. David's words in Psalm 27:4 have become my favorite life Scripture. I often sign it after my name when autographing books because I believe that the only thing that truly satisfies the longing within us is to know God more intimately today than we did yesterday.

More than likely, you can reflect on a moment with God that was more satisfying than any other event in your life. But if that moment was years ago, or even yesterday, then you are missing out on the rich pleasure that comes from fellowshipping daily with the Father, through His Holy Spirit. The Lord says, "I love those who love me, and those who seek me early and diligently shall find me" (Proverbs 8:17), and, "You will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

No matter what we own, where we go, or what we do, nothing can give us true gratification but the presence of God. Money, trips, vacations, houses and furniture, clothes, open doors of opportunity, marriage, children, and many other blessings are all things that can certainly excite us and give us a degree of happiness for a period of time. But happiness is based on what is happening at the moment, while joy is based on an internal assurance independent of outward circumstances.

The Greek word translated joy in the New Testament means "calm delight." It's not necessarily hilarity, although it can include that, but to be calm and delighted is wonderful. I don't think there's anything better than just to be satisfied. To wake up in the morning and think, Life is good, praise God, I'm satisfied, and then to go to bed at night still satisfied, that is truly living an abundant Spirit-filled life.

We will never be permanently, consistently satisfied if we seek things to do or own in order to quench that void inside of us instead of seeking the inner satisfaction that comes only from time spent with God. I am pressing this point because I believe there are too many unhappy born-again and so-called Spirit-filled believers who are without knowledge of what to do about their dry, unfulfilled lives. I say "so-called" because to be filled is to remain full of the Spirit of God by acknowledging Him and pursuing His ways on a daily basis.

God's Word says, "But ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit"(Ephesians 5:18). Ever means always, anytime, daily. Our stomachs never stay filled if we don't keep eating and drinking. One good book, one classroom study, or one good conversation with someone can never satisfy our thought life, and one-time encounters with God are never going to keep us contented spiritually.

We spend time and money, we make careful plans and elaborate provisions to feed ourselves each day. Sometimes we even know today where and what we're going to be eating tomorrow! Just as our physical body must be fed, our spirit man must also be fed. But somehow we seem to think we can have a great relationship with God without feeding ourselves with His Word and filling ourselves with His presence.

Jesus said, "Man does not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4, paraphrase). Then in John 6:33 He said, "For the Bread of God is He Who comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world." Yet we starve ourselves of life's most important requirement—this Daily Bread from God.

We were created to enjoy a living, vital relationship with God. There's something supernaturally wonderful about reading the Word of God and hearing Him speak His promises to us. His Word to us has inherent power in it; His words are spirit, and they are life (see John 6:63). If we don't seek God and spend time feeding our spirit with His truth, we will never be content. I don't think there's anything worse than being in a low-level state of spiritual dissatisfaction all the time.

It's obvious that some people are closer to God than others. Some people have a reverent familiarity with God that seems foreign to other Christians. These "close friends" of God share stories of talking to Him as if they know Him personally. Their faces shine with enthusiasm as they testify, "And God told me . . ." while skeptical onlookers grumble to themselves, "Well, God never talks to me like that!"

Why is that? Does God have favorites? Is God a respecter of persons? No, Scripture teaches that we, not God, determine our own level of intimacy with Him. We have all been extended the open invitation to "fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]" (Hebrews 4:16). At this moment, each one of us is as close to God's throne of grace as we choose to be.

Looking first at God's dealings with the Israelites beginning in Exodus chapter 19, we see four levels of intimacy that we can choose to have with God. Moses went alone to the top of the mountain to speak with God, but God established borders at three more levels on the mountain to which others could also ascend in order to draw near to Him. The borders coincided with their corresponding level of maturity and commitment to pursue Him.

The first border was at the foot of the mountain:

And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever." So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, #Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.'" (Exodus 19:9-12 NKJV)

Then the Lord invited Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel to come closer to His mountain habitat and worship at a distance, thus demonstrating a second level of relationship with God. Joshua was allowed to climb up to the third level before Moses left him to approach the Lord alone. Exodus 24:9-17 NIV explains:

Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction." Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them." When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.

Why would God let some people only into a certain level of His presence, but allow others to come closer, and some, like Moses, to see Him face to face? In Exodus 32 we see that the level of commitment each group demonstrated to God parallels the level of intimacy each group experienced on God's mountain. We decide what depth of His presence we will enter by our level of obedience to His instruction in our lives.

To everyone at the first border, God was saying, "I'm coming to visit you, but you can only come this far into My presence." And they were comfortable remaining at the foot of the mountain where they could hear God's voice as He talked to Moses. They didn't move beyond that boundary because to them God looked like a consuming fire. Remember, this was the same group of people who later pooled their gold jewelry to make a golden calf to worship because they grew tired of waiting for Moses to come back from his visit with God. Think of it—they worshiped the earrings God had given them when they left Egypt (see Exodus 32:1-6)!

Aaron was among the priests and elders who ascended to the second level and were privileged to see the beauty of God's feet (see Exodus 24:9,10), yet he later helped the children of Israel prepare an altar for their unholy sacrifices. And his sons, Nadab and Abihu, who shared this encounter with God, eventually lost their lives for making an unauthorized sacrifice to Him (see Numbers 3:1).

Joshua, an aide to Moses, was allowed to ascend into the third level of intimacy with God where he watched Moses enter the cloud of God's presence. We see Joshua's humility and dedication to serve the Lord as we watch him faithfully assist Moses whenever he was needed. When Joshua wasn't running an errand for Moses, he could be found praying (see Exodus 33:10-11). He was one of the twelve spies sent into the promised land, and one of two who came back with a good report of faith in God's ability to give them the land (see Numbers 13). God chose Joshua to replace Moses when it came time to take the people into the land God had promised them.

But only Moses went to the top of the mountain and into the intimate presence of God. It is clear from Scripture that Moses had taken great personal sacrifices and risks to obey God. He had turned down opportunities for personal promotion in order to see God's people blessed. When he found out that he was not an Egyptian but an Israelite, he refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter (see Hebrews 11:24-29). What a momentous decision that was for him! Since he had grown up in the house of Pharaoh, he was rich with every earthly treasure that anybody could possibly have. The Israelites, on the other hand, were poor slaves who enjoyed none of the luxuries that he was used to.

Hebrews 11:25 says of Moses: "He preferred to share the oppression [suffer the hardships] and bear the shame of the people of God rather than to have the fleeting enjoyment of a sinful life." Now that's a powerful Scripture! Moses could have kept on having fun in the flesh, but he chose to seek something more. Not everyone would have paid that price.

Moses passed the test of ambition and selfishness. He wanted intimacy with God more than anything else. Moses spent time with God for forty days and forty nights and received the Ten Commandments. God spoke with Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend (see Exodus 33:11). The manifest glory of God shone on Moses' face in such intensity that he had to wear a veil because the brightness of his countenance blinded the people (see Exodus 34:30-35).

These same four levels of intimacy are demonstrated in those who knew Jesus. We know that Jesus appointed at least seventy people to travel ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going (see Luke 10:1). From the seventy, Jesus chose twelve disciples to share a deeper level of intimacy with Him, and out of the twelve there were three—Peter, James, and John—who were taken by Jesus into situations that none of the others could share. But of these three who were closest to Jesus, only John felt comfortable enough to rest his head on Jesus' chest as he listened to the Lord teach and talk of the kingdom of God.

Jesus had seventy acquaintances, twelve disciples, three close friends, and one who loved Him like a brother. Jesus loved them all, and they all loved Jesus, but not everyone was willing to make the same level of commitment as those who entered into a more intimate relationship with Him.

Not everybody is willing to pay the price it takes to be close to God. Not everybody is willing simply to take the time to be close to the Lord. God doesn't ask for all of our time. He wants us to do other things besides engaging in spiritual activities. He designed us with a body, a soul, and a spirit, and He expects us to take care of each area of our being.

Exercising our bodies takes time and effort. Our soul needs to be taken care of. Our emotions need to be ministered to, we need to be entertained and have fun, and we need to enjoy fellowship with other people. Likewise, we have a spiritual nature that needs attention. If any area of our being gets out of balance, the spiritual begins to suffer; then our lives quickly become lopsided, and things just don't work as they should.

I believe the whole issue of intimacy with God is a matter of time. We say we don't have time to seek God, but we take time to do the things that are the most important to us. "I'm busy" can be an excuse. We all have to fight distractions every day to protect our time to seek God. He is the most important requirement in our lives, so why doesn't He have that place of importance in our time? Perhaps it's because when we start making a spiritual investment, we want instant gratification. But to seek God means to continue looking for Him.

We won't experience instant gratification. We must sow before we reap; we must invest before we get a return. In other words, we must lose before we gain; we must give up time before we can experience intimacy with God.

We may have to deal sternly with our flesh to resist the spirit of passivity that tries to keep us from growing in the knowledge of God. A commitment to spend time with God is as serious as any commitment that we could ever make.

God's Word says, "Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word]" (Psalm 27:8). God promises, "Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). I love that Scripture—it tells us we are to require God as a vital necessity in life.

My uncle, who is now home with the Lord, had a pacemaker in his heart that had to be charged every so many days. One Saturday Dave and I invited my aunt and uncle out for a nice steak dinner, but they couldn't go because my uncle had to charge his pacemaker that day.

At first I didn't understand why my aunt said they couldn't go. I said, "Well, he can charge his pacemaker tomorrow!"

She said, "Joyce, he won't be here tomorrow if he doesn't charge his pacemaker today."

If my uncle didn't take time to recharge his pacemaker, his heart would stop beating. It was a vital necessity for him to keep his appointment with his lifeline to that machine. If we looked at our time with God as the opportunity to recharge the pacemaker of our heart, it would be important enough for us to make sure that we took time to do it. If we would even keep our appointment with God as we keep other appointments, we would be in good shape. But things come up, and all of a sudden we're off doing something else.

If I needed dialysis due to kidney disease and had to be at the hospital twice a week for treatment at 8:00 A.M., I certainly would not accept an invitation to do anything else, no matter how appealing it might seem. I would know that my life depended upon keeping my appointment. That is the way we should view our time with God. The quality of our life is greatly affected by the time we spend with God, and it should have a place of priority in our schedule.

Perhaps because God is ever available we think we can spend time with Him later, so we choose to respond to what seems urgent, instead of giving God a place of priority in our lives. But if we spent more priority time with God, we wouldn't have so many emergencies that rob us of our time. We are to redeem time through prayer.

When you sit in the presence of God, even if you don't feel like you are learning anything new, you are still sowing good seed into your life that will produce a good harvest. With persistence, you will get to the point where you understand more of the Word, where you are having great fellowship with God, where you are talking to Him, and He is talking to you. You will sense His presence and begin to see changes in your life that will amaze you. Don't spend your time chasing blessings. Chase God, and the blessings will chase you.

The blessings of God are released to us according to our level of maturity in Him. Third John 1:2 KJV says, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."

Maturity is demonstrated through our daily lifestyle, through the way we treat our family and friends. True spirituality is not only evident on Sunday mornings at church, but throughout the week as we do what God tells us to do whether we feel like it or not. Our maturity will be tested by people capable of bringing out the worst that is still in us.

When you spend time with God, everybody else knows it. You become calmer, you're easier to get along with, and you don't lose control of your emotions as quickly. Your patience increases, and your heart soon understands what God likes and what offends Him. As with any friend, the more time you spend with God, the more like Him you become.

Spending time with God causes you to be sensitive to the love He wants to demonstrate to you and to others through you. Your conscience alerts you to His presence when you're talking to someone in a wrong way. Your heart grieves when He grieves, and you quickly pray, "Oh God, I'm sorry. Please forgive me." Desire fills your heart to apologize to the person you have offended. You soon discover that saying, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," isn't so difficult after all.

The desires of your heart and the way you treat others reveal more about you and your relationship with God than any other outward sign. Moses enjoyed a deep level of intimacy with God, and he desired for God to bless His people. When God told Moses that he had favor in God's eyes (see Exodus 33:12), Moses understood that meant he could ask for whatever his heart desired. (What would you have asked for if you had been in Moses' place?)

Moses said to God, "If I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You [progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, perceiving and recognizing and understanding more strongly and clearly] and that I may find favor in Your sight. And [Lord, do] consider that this nation is Your people" (Exodus 33:13). Moses had already seen God perform history's most magnificent miracles, yet he wanted to learn more of God's ways so that he could continue to find favor with the Lord. And he remembered to ask God to bless the people He had put in his care.

Staying at the same level of intimacy with God can't satisfy us. Three obvious distractions that keep us from spending time with God are our desire for entertainment, our work, and the demands of other people. All of these are unavoidable—and even necessary—so we have to make a quality decision to want more of God than anything else and to learn balance in taking time to seek Him.

It is awful to want to be somewhere, but not be able to find a way to get there. I want to help you get to where you want to be. People read books and go to seminars to learn how to live successful lives, get promotions, and enjoy better relationships. God has answers to every need; all we have to do is cooperate with Him. God is not going to tell you to do something that is beyond your ability—all He wants is your willingness, and then He will do the work.

I remember when the Lord told me to quit my fulltime job where I was making as much money as my husband. In addition, I was "the boss," so I enjoyed many benefits because of my high position. But the Lord began to deal with me, saying, "You're going to have to lay that down and stay home and prepare for ministry."

Outside of my job, I was a housewife in Fenton, Missouri, with three little kids. How did I even know for sure that I was hearing from God? God dealt with me, and dealt with me, but I was afraid to quit work. Finally I tried to make a deal with God, saying, "I'll tell You what; I won't work full-time anymore, but I'll work part-time."

So I went to work part-time for a company because I was afraid to trust God all the way. Dave and I didn't have as much income as we had before, but I found we could survive on the smaller amount of money that we were making. We had to cut down on expenses, but we could pay our bills—and that was okay with me. It seemed like a good plan to me, but it was not God's plan.

I learned that God doesn't want to make "deals," and I ended up getting fired! I wasn't the kind of person who got fired from a job. I had never been fired before. I had always been in charge. I used to fire other people, and now I had been fired. After I lost my job, I was where God wanted me to be all along—totally dependent on Him.

When I no longer had a job, I had to learn to trust God for little things like socks, underwear, a skillet, washcloths, and my kids' tennis shoes. This situation continued for six years, and during those years I learned a lot about the faithfulness of God. Now Dave and I must trust God on a much higher level for what we need to run our ministry. If I had not gone through those years of testing and stretching my faith, I would not be where I am today.

Many people give up during the testing years. They never pass their tests, so they spend their entire life going around and around the same mountains (see Deuteronomy 2:3). You may not understand what you are going through right now, but later on you will see the purpose, if you refuse to give up.

I am not telling you to quit your job to get ready for ministry. I only tell this story to explain that my husband and I didn't just roll out of bed one morning and begin working for God with thousands of people in a worldwide ministry. The Bible says that Jesus gained experience through what He suffered and was equipped for His office as High Priest. Even Jesus went through things that helped Him in His ministry in later years (see Hebrews 5:5-10).

God told me to quit work so I could gain experience in trusting Him for everything I needed. But please don't quit your job and try to do something in the flesh. God doesn't tell many people to just quit what they are doing, but He had to teach me to live by faith because of the things He knew Dave and I would have to believe Him for now. Only experience can equip us for the faith we need on a daily basis to continue doing what God has called us to do.

In the early days of my walk with God, my desire to know Him grew into this life prayer, which I encourage you also to pray if you are hungering for more of God:

God, if I have found favor with You, show me Your ways. I want to think and be like You. I want to know You and the power of Your resurrection. Help me, God, to walk in the fruit of the Spirit. Help me not to mistreat people. Help me to be a blessing everywhere I go today.

I decided that if anybody can get more of God, I want more, too.

Copyright © 2003 by Joyce Meyer