Experiencing God

Experiencing God-Chap Five-Seven Realities of Experienc God

Question 1. Do you believe God is at work around you right now? If so, what do you sense he is presently doing?

Yes I believe that he is. He created the world for a purpose. It was not just a hobby that he ignored when it was completed. It is his perfect creation. Even though I do not see God, my spiritual eyes are open and I can see his work. The best example is on a clear night when I look up at the stars. I recognize that as God’s perfect creation.

Question 2. What has God done lately that provided you an opportunity to come to know him more personally than you had before?

There are so many things it will take a long time to write. I believe that God guides me throughout my life. When I became a Christian, it was the first semester at a community college. The previous semester, I had flunked out of a college. When I found out that I was academically dismissed, it was like it was the end of the world. However, I also knew that I could not give up on college. Therefore, I immediately enrolled in the community college. If my grades had been a little better in my first college, I would have still attended there. I would not have met Ray, who told me how to get salvation. Maybe I would have met someone in my future. However, I do not think I would have been as open.

Question 3. Is God inviting you to join him in his activity? Is so, what is he asking you to do?

Yes, God is always inviting me to do his work. However I am like Moses. When God first told him about his plans for him, Moses always had one excuse or another. I do not have the confidence to carry through with God’s plans for me. I cannot picture myself being a public speaker like Joyce Meyer. I cannot see leaving my family to become a missionary in another country. I know from reading the Book of Matthew, Jesus expects me to leave everything to follow him. However, I feel my mission is closer to home. My family needs me-even though they will not ask for help-to lead them to God.

Question 4. Have you heard God speak to you recently? If so what did he say? What have you done is response?

I can recall one time when I heard God’s voice. I was driving to work one day and I heard a voice. I was talking to God at the time and my whole soul was filled with joy. I heard a voice and it basically interrupted my thoughts. It was distinctly a man’s voice (however I cannot describe what the voice actually sounded like) and the voice said, “You are going to heaven.”

I never heard God’s voice in this way again. I am sure he speaks to me through the Holy Spirit. However, with all of life’s distractions around me, I am at times too stubborn to listen. However, as I am exploring myself, I am attempting to get these distractions out of my life.

Also, God speaks to me through other people. An excellent example is Joyce Meyer. I like to watch Enjoying Everyday Life. One time she touched on a sore point in our life-finances. Even with two incomes, my husband and I are struggling between paydays, trying to get bills paid as well as paying for our older daughter’s tuition. Joyce said rather than demand God for help, ask him to show us what we can do. I did that and it worked. While we are still struggling, we are making ends meet through what God has showed us.

Question 5. Are you presently experiencing a crisis of belief? If so, why?

In my reading, Moses is brought up where he is reluctant because he is unsure of himself because of the mission God gave him. This is what the authors describe as a crisis of belief.

While God has not told me to go be a missionary in a Third World country, I have a crisis of belief when I worry about daily things. As mentioned before, our finances are the biggest concern. When I worry about paying a bill, I am not walking in faith with God. The Lord has always provided for us. We never went without food on our table and we always had a roof over our heads. I tend to look at the present situation and not at the near future. While our largest bill is $740 a month, we will not be paying that in six months.

Question 6. What adjustments in your life is God asking you to make?

As Blackaby states, I have to change from my way of doing things to God’s way of doing things.

My first adjustment is to change the way I speak and think. I am very good at watching what I say around people. My job, like most places of employment, has a gossip mill. If I hear something about another person, I do not get involved. I do not pass what I hear to someone else. Gossip is hurtful, since most gossip are just rumors. However, I still need to watch my tongue. When I am taken by surprise and am angry, the wrong words come out.

My thoughts are a different matter. It is very difficult to control my thoughts. Even if I say positive words, but I am thinking something entirely different, I am a hypocrite in God’s eyes.

My relationships are another area I can improve on. I go to work, to work. I do what jobs the supervisor tells me to. Some people at work are what I call troublemakers. While this includes the gossip mill, there are others who like to cause strife among the other workers. I tend to avoid them.

I also need to adjust what I read, watch and listen to. There is too much violence, cursing and sexual immorality on television, radio and in books. The way I will adjust this is only watching specific stations, listening to Christian radio stations and getting rid of books that are immoral.

Question 7. How have you come to know God more personally as a result of obeying what He told you to do?

I see God as more than an invisible being. He is a friend who is trustworthy. He is a counselor who directs me through obstacles life throws at me. He is a redeemer who gave me the free gift of salvation through his son Jesus Christ. He is patient with my missteps I take through life. He understands when I slip and fall. He is wise. He is all-knowing. He is all-powerful. Nothing is impossible through God.