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There have been several articles and we always have multiple comments on there is no proof that God exist. We hear the battle cry “Shoe me the evidence”. Evidence in this case is subjective, to the interpretation of the person. We all have the same evidence, the way we interpret it determines what we do or do not accept. That interpretation is based on our own bias and presuppositions. There are those that cry for empirical evidence, if they cannot feel it touch or see it in does not exist. There are many things in life we cannot feel, touch or see and yet we accept them. You cannot touch love, feel love ( in a physical tactile sense) or see it, yet we will accept it exist. We can see the reaction in the brain to different emotions, yet we are only seeing the results of the emotion not the emotion. Science can and has provided us with many wonderful things, yet in cannot explain why there is unconditional love or compassion. It cannot explain the awe we feel when we see the night sky, or the joy we feel when we hear a child’s laughter. The sorrow felt in each every loss in our lives. Science cannot explain the hope that everything will be ok at those times when there is no way out. In my life those thing s can only be explained by my relationship with my Creator. They can only be explained by experience, I have long had the knowledge of God, but that ability to know becomes so much more when we know by experience. I would like to share what I have learned in experiencing God and what has become to me the seven realities to experiencing God.
Number one –“God is always at work around you”. God did not create this world then abandon it. God has always been actively involved in its affairs from the beginning. From the moment He created us, to when we became separated from Him through sin, through his work at redeeming us to His ultimate gift dying on the cross so that we may be reconciled. He has and is always at work. When Moses was asked to work and free the nation of Israel from slavery, God had already been at work to pave the way for this to happen. God told Abraham to go to the land He had promised, He told Abraham that his descendants would be taken in to bondage. He made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the used Moses to accomplish His task. He is working the same today and inviting His people you and I to join Him in His work.
Number two – “God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal” . God created us to be relational and to love. We were created to love our Father and each other. God is the one that is pursuing a relationship with us. Our personal relationship with Him is important and personally I have discovered that if my relationship with God is not as it should be nothing else none of my other relationships are in order. Scripture teaches that while we were still sinners He loved us. It teaches that He because of this love He died for us. How much more should our love be for Him and for each other?
Number three – “God invites you to become involved with Him in His work” . God is the creator and sovereign ruler of the universe; He has always been at work to accomplish His purpose. We often have grandiose dreams of things of what we can do for God or for ourselves. We have the inner drive to be self-centered doing what we think is right in our own eyes. When God invited us to be God-centered and to look and see where He is already working and then invites us to join Him. Such was the case with Moses, Go had already a purpose and that was to free Israel form slavery and He invited Moses to join Him. Many Christians are looking for that “Red Sea” moment and by doing that they are self-centered and miss all the small moments God has invited you to join Him. He promised Abraham a son and waited 25 years before He gave Him a son. Inviting Abraham to grow through he small things, building his character until he was ready to be the father of a nation.
Number four - “God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church (other believers0 to reveal Himself, His purpose and His ways”. From Genesis to Revelation God speaks to His people. Today He still speaks through His word which is given to us . He speaks to us through prayer as we quietly listen for His voice and guidance. Most assuredly He speaks through our circumstances He has and will often use our circumstances to draw us closer to Him. Again as with His invitation we do need the “Red Sea” moment; if you look He is there even in the smallest of circumstances. We should always verify what we feel is God’s will by His searching His word, by prayer and by sharing with other believers we trust. From my own personal experience I know that when I am in God’s will there is a peace that overcomes me and a joy that fills me.
Number five – “God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action” Often when God invites you to work with Him He is inviting you to do something that you cannot do on your own. God’s assignments often need God sized solutions. When God invited Moses to join Him there was no way Moses could accomplish this on His own and Moses had a crisis of belief. He asked God “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” He knew He did not have the power to do the task at hand. Each time Moses offered an excuse he was questioning whether God could really do what He said He can do. Moses took that step of faith relying on God’s promises given hundreds of years before he was born and then took action and went to Pharaoh. As a Christian I have had a crisis of belief many times, and each time it took a step of faith to follow where God was leading. Faith to believe that He can do what He says He can do, and take the action to follow.
Number six – “You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing” Nobody likes change we get comfortable in our lives and in our situations. When God invites you to join Him you will have to adjust. Abraham was called to leave where he was with no definite destination given, Moses was called to go back to Egypt where he could face death, the Apostles were asked to leave their lives behind and follow. If you follow God you to will have to make adjustments, whether they be location, emotional, or in your character or thinking, you cannot stay where you are and follow God. These adjustments will not always be easy but to move closer to God they are required.
Number seven — “You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you” As you obey God you will experience Him then begin to know Him on a whole new level. Throughout scripture we see people obeying God and the experiencing Him in a greater way. If we accept God’s invitation and work where He is working and obey what He has given us to do we will experience Him. Every step of obedience taken lets us grow closer to God. You can move beyond the “I know” god because I have read the bible, or others have told me about Him to the “I know” God because I have experienced Him in a real and personal way.
Lessons I have learned in my walk with God and with the help of some great teachers and writers. The purpose of this article is not to argue whether there is a God. Whether I am right or you are wrong It is to share my experience and others experience in knowing God on a whole new level and perhaps how you can know this to. If you do not believe I hope it helps explain why some of us do believe. Experience is a personal thing and is real. As I stated in the beginning much of what we experience in life cannot be explained by science, the evidence is not empirical. But that does not make it any less real, any less important in the lives of many people.
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