CLOSER

(Excerpt and Summary from INTIMACY: 5 Steps to Bring You Closer to God by Bro. Bo Sanchez)

I have a confession to make.

I cheated on God.

I broke my promise to Him.

Two weeks ago, I got depressed with a realization that all things I’ve promised to temporarily give up this season of Lent were broken. It led me to ask myself, “Ano bang ginagawa mo sa buhay mo?”

I feel so guilty that after witnessing all the miracles that God showed me, after receiving all the blessings and gifts He have prepared, after experiencing His graces and forgiveness, Brothers and Sisters, I keep on falling apart. I keep on drifting away. I keep on being forgetful of His words. I feel lost. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how and where I am going to start. I pray. Ang kapal ng mukha ko isang araw. Nagsimula ulit ako magdasal. Hindi ng rosaryo. Hindi ng kahit ano pa mang babasahin na dinarasal ko araw-araw, kundi isang PERSONAL na panalangin….”Panginoon, gusto ko na pong bumalik. Gusto ko na pong ayusin ang sarili ko ulit. Tulungan nyo po ako.” And I know that that personal prayer unblocked everything, and the power of the Holy Spirit worked in me. That day, I was reminded of my Bible Verse for the year through OneTouch App:

So let us not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessings if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9

Each of us has experienced the so-called “spiritual dryness”. A state when you feel like God is too far away from you. A state when you’re the only one who’s not experiencing the heat brought by the Holy Spirit – the spark, the love, the tears. A state when you feel lost, you don’t know where to go, who to turn to, and even the things that you do, feel so wrong and do not please God. My friend, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. But worry NOT! God is never far away from you, from me, from each and one of us, because His presence is already WITH US…always and forever. And because of this, even if I am struggling, I know that I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13) and that His power is made perfect in my weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9). Therefore, He will not bring me this far to leave me (Phil.1:6). I will believe and not be afraid (Mark 5:36).

How do we go back to God? Bo Sanchez, in his book INTIMACY, 5 Steps to Bring You Closer to God shares simple (simple and he did not say easy) that helped me to move forward and start again. I am sharing this to you now to help you renew yourself and be immersed with God’s love. Are you ready?

Step 1 Go to the Holy Land…but not in Israel or Rome

Like what I’ve mentioned earlier, GOD’S PRESENCE IS ALWAYS WITH US. Going to Holy Land may be necessary (because like Muslim people, a Catholic Christian should also ambition going to Holy Land), but we must always be reminded that God is omnipresent, and we can meet Him anytime and anywhere we want. St. Paul said in His letter to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own (1 Cor. 6:19)”. When you pray today, be silent for a while and allow yourself to be aware of God’s loving gaze. He is a parent. I can imagine the way He looks at me like how my Nanay will watch me while preparing for work. She does that all the time and God definitely does that more – whatever we do, wherever we go.

Step 2 Remove Your Sandals

When God met Moses in Mt. Sinai to give the 10 commandments, He asked Him, “Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground (Exodus 3:5).”

If we believe that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and God’s presence is within us, then we must cleanse and purify ourselves. The sandals represent our sins. We have become used to it. We didn’t allow our conscience to speak to us prior to committing sins. Sins blinded us to the truth. It blocks the works of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But becoming aware of God’s presence, being closer to Him, allows us to see ourselves and the dirt that we must get rid of…pride, selfishness, hatred, etc.  – these sins do not bring blessings in our lives, but slavery instead. We must walk towards the light, bring our dirt to light, and allow God to purify us. Only He can do that. How? Through confession. Have that courage to go to church and confess. Forgiveness from God gives us freedom. Let us ask for His healing mercy. The choice is yours.

Step 3 Be Transformed by His Creative Word

Words are powerful – It can change, make, or destroy lives and it has power over our bodies too! Is there someone in your life whose words bring blessings to you? Or is it the other way around? If words from a certain person have power to you, then be ready, God’s words are more powerful and effective.

Do not just read the Bible/Gospel every day. Read it with reverence, meditation, and obedience. The word of God is given and provided to us not just for reading. It should change us. It should transform and help us imitate Christ, in thoughts, words, and actions. God’s words should help us possess a heart like that of Jesus.

Step 4 Pray in His Name

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Mat. 7:7).”

God knew the desires of our heart. Hindi pa man tayo nagsasalita, alam Nya na kung ano ang kailangan natin. There were unanswered prayers, yes, but do not forget that most of the time, HE ANSWERS! Madalas mas higit pa sa hinihiling mo. ‘Wag kang magtampo. Some big blessings are given in God’s time, NOT YOURS. So do not give up and pray persistently. If in step 1, it taught you to be aware of His loving gaze, in step 4, let it teach you to “let go and let God”. He is a generous provider. In the novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, there is a line there that says, “He will not refuse a contrite heart”. Pray in His Name, just like how you mentioned a family member or a friend that is common to you and some person you are asking for a favor (example, trying to get a discount from an item: Kakilala mo si Nelsie? Kaibigan ko yun!). Believe me, You have Jesus’s back when you present your prayer to the Father.

Step 5 Throw Yourself into Fire

Change doesn’t happen overnight. You need courage and the willingness to do something for yourself in order to please God and be a blessing to the people around you. Change is simple but it does not mean it is painless. You will struggle. You will be challenged. But at the end of the day, after enduring all the pains, you will be TRANSFORMED. God will use your pain to purify you, to cleanse you, and to make you strong. When you throw wood into a blaze, it changes to smoke and ashes. If wood has feelings, it would be screaming the whole time.

Join me, as I throw myself into fire. I AM NOT WORTHY, but I will always remember that He loves me and I came from Him. Let us journey together to whom God wants us to be, and where He wants us to go.

We are loved. We are forgiven. We are washed from our sins.

BY HIS WOUNDS, WE ARE HEALED (Isaiah 53:5).