Where do we go to find God?
Others tell me to:
Go to church.
Listen to a sermon.
Read your Bible, it doesn’t matter where.
Pray on your knees, by yourself, for 30 minutes a day.
Go to a prayer meeting.
Join another Bible study.
Strive to be more disciplined.
Work harder to be good.
Maybe, if I do all these things, I’ll finally please God enough that I can feel God’s presence near me.
Really?
I find that this doesn’t “work” for me. In fact, it makes me focus on me and what I can do, instead of on God. These aren’t bad things, but this is not usually where I encounter God.
I have found I’m more likely to find God in the following ways:
When I stop doing.
When I take a moment to relax and look at God’s creation ~ the infinity of the stars, the power of a storm,
the beauty of the tiniest flower, the freedom of a soaring bird.
When I help a friend through a hardship.
When I give to a stranger.
When I’m in the middle of everyday chores, and a flicker of contentment ignites inside of me.
When I’m listening to a song that moves me to tears.
When I read a sentence that resonates deep within me.
When I’m lonely and feeling sorry for myself and God whispers into my heart that I’m not alone.
When I take time to think, meditate, contemplate on a particular truth or beauty.
When I’m hurting and a friend comes along to give me a hug.
When I’m embraced by peace in the midst of doubts and questioning.
When life gets hard but an inner strength keeps me going.
When I’m embraced by mercy when I fail once again.
When not knowing is okay.
God is there. In life. So stop striving. Stop performing. And just come.
God isn’t waiting for us to do, only come. Come.
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