What’s Holding You Back?

Friendship of a Lifetime

Think about the close friends in your life.

Perhaps with most of your friends, you hit it off right from the start and have been close ever since. But you might also have a close friend who was an acquaintance for a long time before you became friends. You may have known each other in passing at work or at school, and something held you back from getting to know him or her. Looking back, you’re now amazed that it took so long for you to become friends!

Many things can keep us from getting to know someone.

You might think you don’t need any more friends, or you don’t want to open yourself up to new people. The person might strike you as a bit odd, or you have heard negative things about him. With all the distractions of daily life, you may never have noticed him, or didn’t realize that he was interested in a friendship with you.

Our relationship with God can be the same way.

Perhaps you have been friends with God as long as you can remember, and friendship with him seems to come naturally. Or it could be that God seems to you more like a classmate or co-worker whom you only know in passing. You may have heard a bit about him, but something is keeping you from getting to know him.

Many obstacles can keep us from faith in God.

We may assume that God is a fairy tale, invented to give people comfort. We could have some misunderstandings about him. We might have experienced hurt or rejection from a particular church or its members. Perhaps we are just really busy, and we don’t feel like we need God. Maybe we have never realized that God is interested in us, deeply desiring for us to know him.

We don’t want to miss out on such a friendship!

It’s not easy to reach out to someone and try to build a new friendship, but an amazing friend is worth the effort. The same is true with God. With some time and effort, we can seek out a relationship with him. If Christians are wrong and God does not exist, then we will have spent worthwhile time thinking about life’s big questions; no harm done! But if God does exist, then we have an opportunity to enter into the greatest and most beautiful relationship of our lives.

What obstacles might you be experiencing?

There are many reasons to believe in God. But before exploring arguments for his existence, it is worth considering what obstacles might be keeping us from being open to him in the first place. In this message series, we will explore some common obstacles and suggest ways to overcome them.