Pastor Rick Warren begins Chapter 12 of The Purpose Driven Life by noting that developing our friendship with God takes desire, time, and energy. Like any other friendship, it won’t happen by accident. Rick continues with the next 2 steps.
3. I must choose to be honest with God. We must be completely honest about our feelings and our faults. While others may view such frankness as audacity, God views honesty as authenticity. Our true feelings must be shared with God, not what we think we ought to feel or say. If we’re not able to accept and understand that God uses everything for good in our lives, we’ll harbor resentment toward those things we could change if we could play God. The first step to healing is releasing our resentment and revealing our feelings. In addition, expressing our doubts may be the first step toward greater intimacy with God. The author concludes: “You are as close to God as you want to be.”
4. I must choose to obey God in faith. We don’t usually associate obedience with friendship. But it is a condition of intimacy with God. Even though we are friends with God, we aren’t equal to Him. Jesus is our loving leader, and we follow Him. The closer we follow Him, the deeper our relationship with Him becomes. God treasures small acts of obedience and surrounds us daily with such opportunties.
