Now the question, considering everything said in Part-1, is: Can one be vulnerable with GOD and how does one achieve this vulnerability with God?
The answer is…Yes. You can be vulnerable with God but you would first have to be in a relationship with Him. And the only way you can be in a relationship with God (creator of the universe) is by being a Christian, Christ like. This entails you having faith in the finished works of Jesus Christ which are his crucifixion and resurrection from the grave on the third day [Jhn3:16-18; Roms3:21-26, Roms10:9-10; Col1:19-23 & the Four gospels]. Now this faith in Jesus Christ will result in one receiving the Holy Spirit, which is the same spirit Jesus Christ had and which also rose Him up from the grave. And as a result of you receiving the Holy Spirit, due to faith, you are then co-heir and a sibling with Jesus Christ because the Holy Spirit has brought about your adoption to the sonship with Jesus. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is a testimony that you are God’s child [Acts2:1-39 & Roms8:1-17]. Since now, you are child of God, this means that you are in a relationship with Him and it is a parent-child type of relationship. So, this means that you are in a process of getting to know God and in order for this to happen, God and yourself need to be vulnerable with each other.
Therefore, how does God become vulnerable with us? The answer is, THE BIBLE. The BIBLE is the word of God and about Him (Character, likes & dislikes, and many more). Furthermore, the Bible is very crucial in the teaching and training of a Christian in righteousness [2Tim3:16-17] which is what God wants as this results in one living out their true identity which is found in God [2Cor5:11-21; Gen1:26-27]. Additionally, the two components (selfless & selfish) of emotionally available (E.A) are used as methods of vulnerability between God and us-human beings. In the below scriptures we come to learn of God’s selflessness by Him prioritizing our wellbeing. We know of this because he informs us of how far he will go to protect us and care for us; He further instructs us to make our requests and anxieties known to Him so he can deal with them [Psalm23, Psalm55:22; Jhn10:1-21; Phil4:6-7 & 1Pet5:7].
You see there is beauty in God being selfless because it requires you to be forthcoming with your emotions therefore necessitating one to embrace the selfish component of emotional availability. This then translates to one being vulnerable with God which then partially answers the “How to be vulnerable with God?” question. You may ask yourself why should you inform God of your requests and anxieties when He already knows of them [Psalm139]. You see, being forthcoming with God is not futile because this translates to you being intimate with Him. And also, by you opening up(informing) to God, it affords you an opportunity to ask for His assistance with those anxieties and requests [Matt7:71-12]. However, don’t get it misconstrued, your refusal to not informing Him about your situations does not make God unaware of them. In fact, He knows about them and that you are in need of assistance; It’s just that God honours CHOICE.
In the following scriptures God reveals another component of E.A which is of selfishness. He illustrates this component in the request He makes to his children which is of not grieving His Spirit [Eph4:30; Acts1:4-5, Acts2:38-39; 2Cor1:21-22; Rom8:1-7; Jhn4:24, Jhn14:15-26, Jhn15-26-27; 1Cor2:1-16, 2Cor3:7-18]. In other words, God is asking you not to cause Him pain and the only way you can do this is by not disobeying (sin) Him un/intentionally [Genesis 3]. Thus, by God making this request, it renders one to be selfless in that one has to fully cater to God’s need which is of not being grieved. Therefore, your selflessness then becomes another way of you being vulnerable with God.
Furthermore, God’s vulnerability with us leaves Him exposed to the possibility of grief, the nature of vulnerability, all because of mankind’s sinful nature [Gen6:1-6]. However, in being vulnerable with God, He will never be expose you to any harm as that would go against His nature [Jhn10:1-21, Ex34:6-7; 2Cor13:4-7; 1Jhn4:8]. Nevertheless, man may believe that God does hurt us and this because of man’s failure in understanding God’s ways due to His way being greater than ours [Jhn16:5-6; 1Cor2:6-16].
If you want this relationship with God please pray this prayer, called sinner’s prayer, based on the following scriptures: Romans10:9-10, Romans3:9-24, Colossians1:15-23, Ephesians2:8-9, Titus3:5, Acts16:30-33 & Psalms51): “Lord, I admit I am a sinner. I need and want Your forgiveness. I accept Your death as the penalty for my sin, and recognize that Your mercy and grace is a gift You offer to me because of Your great love, not based on anything I have done. Cleanse me and make me Your child. By faith I receive You into my heart as the Son of God and as Savior and Lord of my life. From now on, help me live for You, with You in control. I pray this in Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.”
In closing, the main reason why God is vulnerable (informing us about Himself) with us is so that we get to know our true identity (Gen1:26-27, 2Cor5:11-21 & Phil3:20) so that we may live it out in this world and reflect His KINGDOM because the word is there to be consumed and implemented [Luke8:21; Matt7:24-27; 2Cor5:11-21].
