On a Saturday night on January 18th, 1986, I had a life-changing encounter with God that changed the trajectory of my life. He revealed Himself to me in a marvelous and powerful manner. He didn’t just touch me; He reached in me and pulled out my hatred by demonstrating His love for me. I saw Him. I heard Him. On that day I was transformed – a new creation. And since that day, I’ve spent the rest of my life pursuing Him. My focused on Him has caused me to give up many things – from old friends to opportunities in an athletic career. He met me that day…and since that day, all I’ve wanted to do is reciprocate the deed.
These last 28 years of pursuit has brought me to many places of discovery. Most of these discoveries have been about me. I’ve discovered talents, gifts and abilities I thought I didn’t posses. What’s been so magnificent to me is that the harder I pursue after Him the more He reveals things, not just about Him but mostly about me. He created us in His image (tselem) in His likeness and nature, which means His DNA is in us. The closer we get to Him the more His DNA awakens in us.
So these are the top 5 things I’ve discovered in the last 28 years…
- Love is not a feeling; love is a force. Love is a power, which is the very nature of God. The more I pursue Him the more love I have for Him and people. God’s love and unforgiveness cannot share the same room. The more Love I have, the more of God’s power flows in me and through me.
- Our lives are about relationships. Our horizontal relationships (people) and our vertical relationship (God). It takes work to keep both healthy. If one isn’t healthy, both are unhealthy. The platform of love is relationships; without them our purpose ceases.
- I’ve learned that self-ambition is one of the greatest obstructions of relationships. My struggle with self-ambition has caused me a lot of hardship in many areas of my life. Self-ambition takes the focus off Him and places it on self. Self-ambition is the enemy of God’s purpose in your life.
- Humility is not a weakness; it’s strength. Humility requires a dying of self and an awakening of God’s presence in your life. Humility hurts. Humility kills self-ambition. Humility is the conduit of God’s presence and power flowing through our lives.
- My “God-discoveries” are my “self-discoveries” and vise-versa. The more I discover my identity the more God reveals Himself to me. His nature is in me. He entered me on January 18th, 1986 and since that day, He’s been waiting on me to unpack all that He has for me.
My journey continues. He’s my pursuit. He’s my desire. He’s my worship. He’s my purpose. Jesus touched me that day, and all I’ve wanted to do is touch Him back!
