Despite the claims of Star Trek‘s “Federation of Planets,” life’s “Prime Directive” is not the requirement that during interstellar travel, one is not supposed to interfere with another civilization so as to change its history. We would never do that.
The prime directive of life has actually been set by God Himself, and it pertains to everything related to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3-11).
The purpose of life, its healing, personal transformation, fulfillment and joy, and the source of all desire and power to do the will of God can be found in one place alone: an intimate love relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In coming to know Him at such a deep level, we come to love Him, learn to trust Him and are motivated and empowered to obey Him.
Thus, unless we pursue this prime directive in our lives, nothing else that we seek, whether it is healing, deliverance, freedom, identity or purpose, will be satisfied. Nowhere else will we find the passion and the power for life. In no one else will we find meaning and fulfillment.
Many Leaders Bear Witness to This Truth
In his book, I Will Be Found by You, Francis Frangipane writes: “God measures the value of our lives by the depth of our love. This is what He requires of all true God-seekers: to love Him where we’re at.”
In his book, From Venus to Mars and Back: What it Means to Be You, Angus Hunter writes: “When we are redeemed we are taken out from living under the Law that condemns us and brought us into personal relationship with God.”
This is the very thing we are saved for, that we would be one with the Father. Jesus demonstrated to us that real relationship with the Father is the source of all true holiness and righteousness. This represents a major shift in the way we think, from the Law to the Spirit.
He continues: “We are so valued and loved that Jesus gave His own life for our ransom. That’s who you really are. You are loved and precious beyond anything you can think or imagine. You are God’s child—that is what gives you value. He created you, and you are infinitely valuable to Him … God is not concerned about performance apart from relationship with Him.”
Our love for God is what motivates obedience to His Word. It is the Law written on our hearts (Jer. 31:33). But it must be desired and appropriated through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Author Brennan Manning writes: “Religion is not a matter of learning how to think about God, but of actually encountering Him.”
The apostle John had this to say on the subject: “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” (John 17:3).
In Philippians 3:10a (NIV), the apostle Paul reiterates this thought by exclaiming: “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection.”
This idea of knowing God on a deep, intimate level can also be found in the Old Testament in Jeremiah 9:24, where God says: “let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” (See also Jer. 31:34.)
Foundational Principles
In the first chapter of my newest book, The Sexual Healing Reference Edition, I outline the foundational principles for such a life.
1. We are incapable of doing anything of “eternal” value on our own, including having faith, getting saved, getting healed, gaining wisdom, obtaining righteousness, loving God or man, performing good works, helping others and so forth.
2. Our self-sufficient attempts to do such things block God from being able to accomplish them in and through us.
3. We are wholly dependent on God to plant in us the desire, motivation and equipping to accomplish any good thing.
4. We need to ask for what we do not have and positively respond to the grace that God gives to us.
5. Our goal is to live wholly for the glory of Jesus Christ.
6. The beginning and the end of everything that we need to do can be summed up as “the pursuit of a relationship with the God who saved us and who heals us and who has a future for us.”
God’s Path to Freedom and True Joy
This is the “path” for your healing and freedom from sin. It applies no matter what your individual problem may be.
The point that I’m trying to make is that if God had not lifted the veil from our eyes and given us the faith to believe, we could never have come to salvation, and that the same principle—that God is the author, equipper and inspirer of all right action—applies to everything of value that we will ever do, every healing that we will ever obtain and everything that we will ever become. It is for that reason that it can be rightly said that all glory and honor belongs to God and God alone. When we cast our crowns before Him in that final day, it will not merely be a gesture of honor; it will be the only right thing to do!
Therefore, it is incumbent upon us, as we pursue purpose and freedom from sin, to reject the tendency toward self-effort and self-striving, (the idea that we are somehow responsible for healing ourselves or for initiating our own affirmative actions), so that God can bring about real fruit, and so He can work permanent and effective change into our lives.
When we try to heal ourselves, even using God’s tools, or worse yet, when we try to create our own tools for healing, even those based on biblical models, we stand in the way of God’s healing, for if we succeed in some measure to heal ourselves, God cannot receive the glory. This is a critical point to understand because it is the very purpose of creation to bring glory to the one who died for us.
The Part That We Play
If God alone is capable of doing these things, where does that leave us? Are we to simply do nothing and wait for Him to bring these things about? Of course not! We need to turn our attention to Him, actively recognizing that He is our source for every good thing. We must learn, habitually and with all dependence, to fix our gaze upon Him.
As Westerners, it kind of rubs us the wrong way to submit to the concept of complete dependence on God, or on anyone for that matter. It is un-American. It is weak, and it conflicts with our strong independent spirits. It requires a level of humility that we never even dreamed existed, much less considered a virtue. In a society such as our own that is ruled by the philosophy of humanism, humility is indeed a weakness. However, once we have discovered that there is a Creator God who is far greater than man, humility then becomes wisdom.
After turning a dependent heart toward the Lord, we must, with all diligence, ask Him to accomplish good things in us. Then we need to step out of the way to let Him make that possible. For many of us, a simple prayer of “Help!” is what is needed. Do it; it works!
All of us can benefit from a closer and more intimate relationship with the Lord. So why not pray that God will begin to reveal those things about Himself that will uniquely inspire you to go further with Him. A prayer for more faith is never wrong, or one for God to pour into your heart the love that the Father has for the Son. That’s a firecracker prayer!
Do you want to be set free from bondage to sin and find meaning and purpose in life? Pursue intimacy with God. He will show you the rest, and in partnership with your free will, He will transform you into the image of His beloved Son.
Be persistent! Don’t stop praying for these things until you get them! It is when you want things with all your heart that the Father is pleased to give them to you, especially the things of high virtue.
This article has been adapted from The Sexual Healing Reference Edition. {eoa}
Dr. David Kyle Foster is the host of the Pure Passion Podcast and author of Transformed Into His Image and Love Hunger. He is also the founder and director of Mastering Life Ministries. Read more of his take on sexual sin and brokenness in his newest book, The Sexual Healing Reference Edition.
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