To have good relationships we have to first look back at the beginning of Creation. God created the first relationship between people in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. When He created Adam he saw that it was not good for man to be alone so He created Eve to be his companion. God created us with a sense of community and need for relationships. If we truly want to have good relationships, we have to start with a firm foundation built on the solid principles of God.

When we discover a deeper relationship in Christ it flows over into our relationships with others. To grow those deeper relationships we have to be in constant communication with not only our Father in Heaven but also those who are our friends, boy/girlfriends, fiance’s, and spouses. We should be able to have conversations with those closest to us about our relationships. If we learn how to apply this and push through the awkward moments, we have a chance to affect a statistic that says most marriages end in failure. We have to inspire positive change within us.

Sometimes we get scared that our relationships will fall if we keep open communication with God and our significant other. On God’s side we get scared that if He takes control over our relationships that we might not get to keep the person that we are in a relationship with now. We also sometimes think that if we talk about issues that are awkward we could end up losing someone as well. We have to learn how to trust God first and be obedient to what He says, even if it means ending a relationship. Trust is vital to relational success. If we don’t learn to trust in God we will never be able to trust in others.

One of the most common mistakes that people make in relationships is not setting boundaries early in the relationship.  If we build our relationships correctly we can have the awkward conversation and set boundaries that will direct us in the way of purity, not promiscuity. If we really want to be different we need to rebel against the norm of breaking boundaries and set them in a way that is pleasing to God.

When relationships are built on the solid foundation of Christ, everything else will fall into place. Relationships won’t be so hard to figure out if we trust God and have open communication with Him about our relationships. He will direct us in a way that shows us what boundaries to follow so that we can remain pure in Him. We have to become different than the rest of the world and fight against the inward desire to do things on our own. One day we will be able to see more marriages working and relationships building. Change can only come when we decide to do relationships God’s way and not our way.

We hope that you have enjoyed the past weeks in our Awkward Relationship series. As this comes to a close, we hope that you are encouraged to pursue a relationship with God and allow for Him to control your earthly ones. Next week, we will be talking about some of the questions we have received about Dive Deep Ministries and announcing our new series to start on April 20. If you have any specific questions about our ministry that you would like to have incorporated into next week’s post, please send us an e-mail at kyle@divedeepministries.org.

Have a great week in the Lord!

Dive Deep,

KC

Everyone can probably think of a time when you have been too trusting of someone or haven’t trusted enough. In a world where it seems that corruption and lies live we must find a way to trust others so that our relationships flourish. It is very clear through the Bible that God wants us to trust Him fully with all that we are. One of the best stories that shows trust is about an old guy named Noah whom God told to build an Ark. Now we don’t have Arks floating around in the water today, but the Ark was huge. By the time that it was completed, it was large enough to hold 8 freight trains with 65 cars each! Noah built the Ark because he trusted that God would do what He said, but it was quite an interesting project.

Noah came under huge pressure from his neighbors and his community while he was constructing the Ark, but he continued to put his trust in God and follow what He had commanded him to do. The end result was Noah, his family and two of every kind of animal were on the Ark and spared from God flooding the world, but everyone else was not. Noah’s family was spared because he had spent 600 years trusting in God before he built the Ark.

Noah figured out he had to trust God first, and then trust others. If he had trusted in the people around him who told him that he was crazy, he would have lost out on the reason that God told him to build the Ark in the first place. We so often get this backwards and begin to put our trust in those around us first, and in God second or further. When we do this, we take our eyes off of the one who has created relationships, and then we wonder why our relationships aren’t working out well. We tend to put our trust in things we can see and not in the One who is unseen. If we flip these, we will find out our relationships will begin to flourish.

Trusting in God is hard for the majority of us because when we trust in Him, we lose control over our kingdom. We begin to try to trust in God with some of our self and hold back other areas for us to control. Relationships are an area that we tend to hold on to, but they should be the first we give away. If we want to be blessed in our relationships, we have to trust in God to direct us in the way that we should go with them.

We can’t trust on ourselves and the things of this world, that’s why we should trust God first, then others second. When we get in a relationship with someone at any level, there has to be trust between us. It becomes hard to be in a relationship when you keep secrets from each other, because out of secrets come lies. You will find yourself lying to the other person to cover your tracks, and then you get to the point where the lies overwhelm you and your relationship falls.

There is also a difference between boundaries and trust. Within your relationships before marriage, it’s not the best thing to tell the other person every little thing about you. When you’re married, your trust level changes, and you should be totally open with your spouse. We are going to go more into boundaries next week, so stay tuned for that.

If you find yourself trusting someone else first, then trusting God, it’s time for a change. God is longing for you to trust in Him so He can move in your relationships and in your life. The one thing He is waiting for is for you to surrender your life to Him with no strings attached. This week, take a self-evaluation and look at your relationships to see if you really are trusting God or the other person. If you have any doubt, surrender these areas to God and watch what He will do. You will be free to live better, and He will be able to move in your life in mighty ways. Your relationships will become better over time if you are willing to give up control and be surrendered to God.

There are some pretty cool things that will be happening with Dive Deep in the near future. We will be revealing them over the next few weeks in our blog post and on our Facebook group, so be sure to jump in on the cool stuff going on.

Dive Deep,

KC

Mathew 6:33-34 says

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We have all probably heard this verse at some point in our lives, whether it was while singing a song in bible school, or in a sermon somewhere. In this chapter of Matthew, it is talking about worry. Then we are told seek first the kingdom and His righteousness. What God is trying to tell us is if we put him at the center of our lives, He will give us everything that we need.

The most common mistake among Christians is that we start off wanting to spend time with God, and that is our hearts desire, but we allow the busyness of life to get in the way. We start putting things in front of God, or just make God something we check off our list. We do this, then we wonder why God isn’t blessing us.

To solve this problem, we have to make some needed corrections and put things into perspective. Our thinking must be adjusted to view our relationship with our Creator as the most important relationship we have, because it is. He spends all day with us, but we rarely strive to spend time with Him, so no wonder when we don’t make time for Him, he doesn’t make time for us. He can no longer be a priority, but must become a lifestyle.

As a lifestyle, there is no question to who comes first. God wants us to talk to him about everything, so we always need to be in constant communication with Him. He should be our first thought in the morning, and the last before we go to bed, and occupy all those in between. We need to get to a point where we rely on God as much as we do the air we breath.

With life moving so fast, this can be hard to do, but only if you make it that way. We all have excuses why we can’t talk to God about things, but it all comes back to our priorities being messed up. So take God out of the priority checklist of your life. Make Him what your life’s priorities revolve around.

Proverbs tells us that we should put our relationship with God at the top of everything. It’s not just a good idea, it actually works. If your having problems with your priorities, relationships, work, habits, or anything, start seeking God first, and you would be amazed at how things will change.

God loves us, and nothing gets Him more excited than when we go to Him. We are His children, and as our Heavenly father, He wants to know whats going on, and lead us with advice when we need it. We need to live what we believe, not just check it off our list. God gives you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and sometimes the best we can do is 5 minutes a day. When we signed on to be a Christian, we said that we commit our lives to Him. Is this really represented by 5 minutes a day, or should we be always in contact with our Creator? If we are living as Mathew 6:33 says, we should be the second option.

So if your not being blessed by God, or feel there is a distance, God hasn’t gone anywhere. He is actually closer than ever, just waiting for you to talk to Him so that He can bless you. If we don’t make time for Him, does He really have a reason to make time for you? He wants to, but will you let him?

Challenge yourself to rise above the culture of convenient Christianity. Make God the center of your life, not a priority in your life, and watch what happens. Things will fall into place, and you will begin to see things as never before.

Lets go after this as a community, and let God do the rest.

May God bless you in all you do. To Him be the glory!

Dive Deep,

KC