Face to face with God, by Bill Johnson, was one of the books we read as 2nd year students at BSSM. In this post I want to share with a little bit of my personal experience with this book, as an encouragement for you to read it with your heart open to become closer to God.

I remember the first time reading face to face with God, I expected that it will give me a guide or a map of how to go directly to a “one a one” with Him, which is not a misunderstanding, but that’s also not exactly what the author is giving here. Don’t be chocked with me, but this book just reveal that you still need to grasp God’s presence, seeking him all the time and that the one a one will be exactly the fruits from you daily getting to know God. 

This book can really guide us to a powerful life with God, but it speaks about to build a real relationship with the person of God. If we really pay attention in the keys between the lines than we will have some powerful tools to connect deep with God, but it doesn’t mean that the purpose of the book is to give you a short cut to God, actually is to empower us to be faithful and perceive in get to know God as He is, and not as we want him to be. With means, Bill will help you to be thirst, but you need to want to find your drink!

Honor to Each Other

I like very much that one of the initial attention of the author is to open our eyes to understand the favor of God, walking through the honoring and acknowledgment of people that have God’s favor of above them, even when we don’t agree with they’re theological believes.
It means that as a body we will think different sometimes, but we need to understand that if God is blessing someone, there is a purpose of it. When we rejoice in the other’s favor, being thankful to God for what they have or experience, we start to understand more about what to be a “body” looks like and it brings pleasure to God.
It means that become jealous of our brothers and sisters is a very unhealthy way to be close to God. We can understand this so well though Caim and Abel, but Bill open our hearts to go deep and understand why our hearts can feel this way and that we can teach our hearts to go towards rejoice. It brings us to our goal: Be closer to God.

Awareness of God’s Presence

Is interesting that Bill made us reflect about the awareness of God’s presence, something that we think to be so logical and we still need to be awake is that He is always present, so presence in the peace as He is in a supernatural experience. So, of course if my friend is always there but, I don’t say hello to him or good morning “buddy”, he will still there but, I will lost to don’t recognized his presence. When we recognize it can shake our life – It remembered me the “Good morning Holy Spirit”, from Benni Hinn-.

Take What is Meant to Be Yours

So, then the walk in the book comes to the taking of the promise land, to be known by God as Moses was, that sought him so intensely in the point he will give his attention for a burning bush, to the place where we have so much that we manifest God’s presence, and how it looks like. God is so graceful that his favor is not through a behavior or performance to have, that’s why is a favor, but he gives all with purpose and trusting, so of course God’s favor is not just for already believers, or he will not heal non-believers, but the intense favor of his face comes with a real relationship, He wants to know us as much than we want to know him, but if we don’t step in He will be the respectful God He is. 

Waiting Times

Another amazing understanding that Bill brings through this book is about the waiting times, that will not always be a waiting without action. It also can come with the pain of the labor or with a spiritual faith, but always with the awareness of His presence the waiting times will be a beautiful and fruitful part of our process. What make me remember of so many times that God asked me to wait and what helped me was asking “How do you want me to wait?”, in what kind of position God needs me in different times of waiting. That’s wonderful when we understand the process of waiting, because it takes all the weight and anxiety about the future. 

His glory

Over the amazing revelations through this book, I close with the most important for the season I’m living now, which is the reflection of His glory. Very often I went in the mistake to hide myself when I really could be present and speak or show up, as Bill says. For sure will have times when Holy Spirit ask us to stay in the place we are, but I recognize that for many opportunities He invited me to show up and I didn’t, because of religious mindset, fear or even because of performance. Is such amazing to know that actually when he calls us to step in is because he will appear more than us, that people will want to know him more than we can expect, just because He is who he is and we can be who we are partnering with Him.
Thus, the face to face with God is more about to be so close to God that we are able to shine and be partners with the revelation that He is who He is. 

For sure, this is not 100% of what you will find in this book, but is my own experience reading it, as I told you in the beginning. So, I highly recommend the reading, for sure it brought me to be closer to my favorite person, God!