Our Vertical relationship with God

Do you ever think about your relationship with God? I never really thought of it as a vertical relationship but that is exactly what it is. Up and down, much like the seasons of our lives or the flow of a river.

There may be times when you feel really plugged in to God and Spirit. And other times, you might feel disconnected. However, if you have ever had an encounter with God, you know, that’s when everything changes. These “God-moments” let us know, there is so much more to life.

Oddly enough, my husband and I found ourselves sitting in a church in downtown Salisbury, NC on Sunday afternoon. As we listened to the sounds of soulful jazz, in a half full cathedral style sanctuary, something began to happen. While the sounds of worship rang out, the Spirit overflowed onto each one of us. God came to be with us. The joyful jazz of this three man group somehow opened the windows of heaven. Sitting there, no words were needed as we basked in the river of life.

Halfway through the concert, the jazz drummer introduced one of his originals pieces, entitled, The Bend in the River. As he talked about his song, he compared it to our vertical relationship with Him, pointing upward. When his drum brush grazed the snare drum for the first beat of the song, in an instant, God was everywhere. It was magical.

The ups and downs life

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 NIV reads,

“There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,”

From the Lexham English Bible, the same section in Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3 is called, “God has ordained the Ebb and Flow of Human Activities”. Whereas the NIV reads, “There is a time for everything,” the LEB says, “For everything there is an appointed time”. This appointed time sticks with me as I think about my life in Christ.

A few weeks ago, I talked about our relationship with God compared to Jesus’ relationship in a blog entitled, Draw near to God and God will draw near to you. In it, we see Jesus having “mountaintop” experiences with God and yet feeling forsaken later on the cross. Even His relationship with God had its ups and down.

In that blog, I referenced The Message which reads, “That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good…” “God knew what he was doing from the very beginning.”

Our life is our vertical relationship with God.

As I sat in that sanctuary and reflected on the music that day as a work of art, ordained by God, I felt like I was floating down the river of life. Not an overwhelming, turbulent, gushing flow, but a perfectly peaceful, gentle roll of the river of God. Although, we will experience bends in the river, this water never dries up and never stops flowing. This a our vertical relationship with God.

Ephesians 2:10 reads, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

You are God’s handiwork.
You have been created in Christ Jesus.
You have been created to do good works.

God prepared your life for you in advance.

“In advance” means an appointed time. A time ordained by God. This is your appointed time.

Our life is our vertical relationship with God. It is ordained specifically for you. And that relationship with God is what gives our lives real meaning. Let that sink a minute.

Our life is sacred. God put you here for a season, for such a time as this. What you do with it is up to you. My prayer is that you experience God as often as you wake.

Let us pray, Oh Great River of Life, flow down through us. Wake us up to Your Presence. Reveal to us how sacred our lives really are. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

P.S. Leave me a comment below because I love hearing from you. Forward this message to a friend and ask them to subscribe to my website so that they may receive these messages on a weekly basis. Post on Facebook and tag me in it. Until time, focus on your vertical relationship with God. Ask God to reveal Himself to you today. -M