Over the intertwined engagements of reading, contacting, and meeting authors either online or in one case in person, I have formed some actual friendships. Sometimes simple comments on blogs have led to real communication with various individuals either professionally or peripherally involved in writing and/or publishing.
One such contact some time ago led to a brief e-conversation with then soon-to-be published author Susan D. Hill. Most of you know I rarely take time out to read non-fiction, no matter how hyped the book might be. However, when the author herself reconnected with me and requested that I read her work—well, there can be no denying such a privilege—and so the book arrived, and I read it in a little over a day.
For those of you who have felt like your faith is hanging by a thread, your relationship with God is somewhere between non-existent and being an uninvited guest at an unfamiliar party, your friendship with Jesus is as distant as someone you once knew in kindergarten, sort of, and your knowledge of the Holy Spirit corresponds to your personal data of say, LeBron James, then Closer Than Your Skin is the book for you.
Susan’s book is the unraveling of her personal journey from part-time Christian, full-time religious person and constantly uninspired by the elusive and perceived unavailability of a genuine relationship with a loving God, a real Savior, to the resulting intimate communication with the Holy Spirit.
An easy read in straightforward writing with honest confession and gut-level accounts of her inner-workings and thought processes leading up to the forgiveness and healing necessary in her life, this book is not just the typical “manual” to achieve one more thing in God, with God, or for God. Rather it is a book which explores how one person’s realization of an empty religion eventually led her to find who God can be and desires to be in all of our lives. He wants to get under our skin to the point where we won’t and don’t ignore his efforts to act, speak, and minister to us and through us.
Let me share these two paragraphs with you as a fair representation or summary of Susan’s message:
“Pastors and teachers expand our understanding of God. Fellowship groups are another good forum for hearing how others experience God. We invite God’s presence through prayer, worship, repentance, and humility. These things are important ingredients for intimacy with God. But ingredients do not make a cake. At some point, every believer must enter [his] her own spiritual experience with God.
Often this is the point in the Christian journey where the mind gets in the way. We back away from the very situations in which God is trying to make contact, missing the moment, the message, and the mystery. Our heads overpower our hearts, taking charge of the situation. I’m not talking about laying aside wisdom and discernment. But some people have a mind-set that leaves no room for God to be God. Sometimes he has to circumvent our finite, systematic minds and our stubborn religious frameworks in order to speak to our hearts in the way deep calls to deep.”
I would advise you to read Closer Than Your Skin because perhaps the following couple of sentences summarizes your church experience either lately or for the most part:
“Numerous authors, leaders, pastors, and teachers have written books about knowing God, but they rarely tell of any authentic experiences with him. The church at large does very little teaching about intimacy with God or how to connect with him in a real way.”
I must say this has not been my experience, but I have observed it in many Christians who have what can only be called a “half-baked” experience with our Lord. They have no real passion or convictions, only a sense of religious responsibility. They speak of Jesus in an off-handed manner if they mention Him at all, and their knowledge of the Holy Spirit borders on vague to non-existent. Their participation in worldly ways and philosophies makes them indistinguishable from the secular humanist.
If your spiritual life is lacking or you know those who are empty and uninspired, grab a copy of Closer Than Your Skin and read it and share it. See your God in a real light, in the land of the living. It’s the least you can do to improve your life.
Father, thank you for never giving up on us, for pursuing us with a passion. I ask that you would continue to speak to Susan in magnificent ways. Give her your work to do and encourage her in ways she has even yet to experience. Let her have eyes to see and ears to hear and rejoice in all that you give her to do. Bless her for her courage and enthusiasm in sharing the Truth of her story and the marvelous ways you have participated in her life. Let others be inspired to get closer to you and realize fully how much you desire that from all of us. I ask it all in the Name of Jesus, Amen.
*Please continue to pray for Kristy Dykes.*