In
the spring of 1999, I had a family meeting with my two sons, Luke and
Paul, who were 18 and 20 at the time. I told them that after being a
pastor for 25 years, I was resigning my pastorate to lead the new
International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri, as my full-time
“job.” They looked at me with genuine surprise. “Really?” they asked.
I
answered, “Yes, that is what I am going to do. I will soon resign from
the church.” They asked about my new position. I said, “Well, a group
of worship leaders, intercessors and myself are going to rent a little
trailer, and worship and pray there for hours a day.”
One
of my sons said, “Great, Dad, but what will you do for your REAL job?”
I assured him that this little trailer idea would eventually grow and
other people would join us.
Then I asked, “So, what do you guys think?”
My
boys love me a lot, so they said, “Good, okay, Dad, whatever you say.”
But then one of them had the boldness to look at me sideways and ask,
“Why?”
I
told him, “I want to fast more, pray more and worship more to release
the Great Harvest. And – this may surprise you – one reason I’m doing
it is because I love pleasure.”
They both exclaimed, “Because you love pleasure?”
I
said, “Yes. I’m addicted to wanting to feel more of God’s presence. I
must have more, and I must feel it deeper. I am a total pleasure
addict. That’s one reason I’m going to rent that trailer, get a couple
of guitar players, fast, pray, worship, and study what Scripture says
about the emotions of God.” I’m not sure they understood then, but I
did. I had a vision in mind, learned from years of study and
experience with God, and I wanted to pursue it more aggressively than
ever before. I had discovered that intimacy with God starts with the
realization that God likes us and wants to enjoy with us the pleasure
of spiritual encounters with Him.
There
is nothing more exhilarating for us than plunging into that river of
pleasure. The glory of our lives is not just the fact that our
generation will experience a revival that will surpass even the book of
Acts. That’s great, and I’m happy to be part of it, but we are called
to something even more profound: the infinite God of glory is truly in
love with us, even in our weakness and brokenness. He has invited us
to drink from the awesome spiritual pleasures of having a divine
romance with Him. I’m lost in that! I can’t recover. I will never
get over that message.
I
don’t think it’s possible to outgrow the thrill, the wonder, the
overwhelming certainty of being loved and enjoyed. It is the single
experience all humans grope for and cling to in human relationships and
with God. Knowing you are loved fills your days with endless marvels.
God created us to be this way. He put deep longings to be loved inside
of us. We were designed down to our DNA to live in the spiritual
pleasure of being enjoyed – not just by other humans, but also by Him.
I’m
not talking about simply knowing in your head that God loves you.
Everybody knows that, or says they do. But we’ve been numbed over the
ages to the impact of God’s love. We have reduced it to something
namby-pamby and full of condescension and pity. Yet God’s love is full
of energy and strong emotion! Most believers are so disconnected from
the reality of God’s astonishingly lavish love for us that they miss
out on 99-percent of what they could experience in their everyday walk
with Christ. They rarely feel His passion, love or pleasure. Perhaps
they tell themselves that feeling it is not all that important, as long
as they are obeying His commands, reading the Bible and keeping up with
spiritual disciplines. But as a consequence, they rarely feel love or
pleasure of any kind.
You
have to understand: God is the source of all pleasure in the
universe! True happiness comes from no other source. It is never a
sacrifice to hang out in His presence, for it is there that you can
look into His heart and discover what He looks like emotionally and
what you look like to Him. The result will turn your brain and heart
inside out. You can’t get over it! It’s like falling in love for the
first time. God absolutely burns with love for YOU! And when you get
this understanding deep within, you will be able to enjoy forever the
pleasure of encountering Him.
“The Pleasure of Encountering God” by Mike Bickle article was excerpted
from his book, ”After God’s Own Heart,” copyright © 2004; published by
Charisma House (a division of Strang Communications); all rights
reserved.
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