Seeking God Moments In The Every Day

I was enjoying a visit from a dear friend a couple weeks ago and we started talking about all the ways that God has been working in our lives. I just love sharing how our incredible God takes the time to be with us in the nitty gritty of our daily lives. Often times, we may feel so distant or insignificant to God, but He’s always with us. He’s always making Himself known to us, yet often times we get so caught up in the busyness of our lives that we forget to take the time to see Him at work. Other times, we forget to stop to acknowledge all He has done let alone give Him thanks. It’s when we neglect to share these God moments with others that we miss seeing the big picture. He is orchestrating something beautiful, but we tend to only see part of it. I once heard that God is creating a tapestry with our lives. On the one side we see the beautiful picture but when you turn it around you see all the interconnected pieces that went into the final piece. God works like this in our own lives. Each God moment is significant to the final tapestry. It’s when we take the time to share these God moments with other believers, we begin to see how interwoven we are and integral to His plan.

So, what are God moments?

They come in a variety of forms for a variety of reasons. It’s those moments when you feel near to God, when He answers you, when He convicts you, when He showers you with His love. Whenever, I experience a God moment I feel so near to Him. It’s in those moments that any inkling of doubt is dissolved.

I took some time recently to reflect on my own life and I came up with 4 main ways God makes Himself known to me- Creation, Intercession, His Word and the Spirit.

Creation

God is the Creator of all. He uses His incredible creation to remind us of who He is. He humbles us by showing us how great He is and how weak we are and how desperately we need a Savior. He shows us His strength and might. Through this, we can fully place our trust in Him to hold everything together. Nothing is too small or too big for our God to handle. I’m always in awe when we visit the mountains. They are so majestic and breathtaking. They make me realize just how small I am and how big He is to have molded the mountains with His hands. Even, just taking the time to watch the clouds float across the vast sky amazes me. To see the birds fly way up high in what seems like an endless sky. To look out onto the ocean which seems to never end. All these sights and more are daily reminders of our great God.

Not only does He use creation to humble us, but He uses it to bring comfort and peace to those going through difficult situations and the loss of loved ones. For some people, a cardinal or a hummingbird can remind them of a loved one. I truly believe God uses His creation to bring us temporary comfort and peace here on earth. He knows all of our thoughts and sorrows. He weeps in our sadness. In His supremacy, He has authority over all creation to will it to do as He wishes.

Intercession

What is intercession? It’s when you pray desperately with God for your needs or the needs of others. It is a spiritual gift, often given to a person who is in an intimate relationship with the Lord; a person willing to align their will with the will of the Father to carry out all that He desires. Often times, the Spirit places a certain person on your heart who may need comfort, healing or clarity.

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18

 The Lord uses His followers to be an answer to prayer. He may call on us when we least expect it or He may call us into a situation that is out of our comfort zone. We must pray for boldness and wisdom at these times to act on these moments. We must never dismiss what seems to be a simple action, word or deed, because often times these simple moments have a big impact on those around us. These moments can be as simple as sending a Scripture verse to a friend, to taking a meal to someone, to buying groceries for a family at church, to surprising someone with a coffee and treat. Each of these moments are answers to prayers through giving someone a message from God, removing stress or burden,  or an opportunity to minister into someone’s life.

Recently, I went through a Bible Study on Colossians and one of the activities that resonated with me was to write letters to those who helped me come to know Jesus. I loved the idea of this activity because I had never fully acknowledged the people God had placed around me. I sat down at my computer and typed up personalized letters to each person and sent them out through e-mail, not thinking anything more would come of them. The activity was such a blessing to me but what I did not realize was the blessing it was to my friends receiving them. It wasn’t until I sat down for my weekly women’s bible study with my friend that she expressed to me how much she needed to hear those words the night I had sent it. She was on empty but the words filled her overflowing. A couple weeks later, I visited with another friend and she too expressed how perfect timing the letter was for her as she was going through a trying time. God used this simple act to grow me spiritually, but also to provide comfort and clarity to others.

His Word

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

John poetically describes God as the Word. The Bible is the living breathing words of God that were true then as they are now. This is how He often chooses to speak to us.  That’s why as believers, we should be reading our Bibles daily. If we want to have a relationship with our Father, then meeting with Him daily through Scripture and prayer is integral. If we want to hear from Him, then we should open our Bibles to His Word and impress it upon our hearts.

Each time I read through His Word, He reveals something new to me. His Word is always relevant to whatever circumstance I am in. At times, He calls me to be His messenger to share certain passages of Scripture with others.

I used to read my Bible thinking that each and every time God would answer me. It was a very selfish way to approach the Bible. But what I came to realize is that He often would use something I had read earlier in the week to share with someone else. It’s so important that we are daily in His Word because we never know when the Lord will call us to give an answer to someone’s prayer.

Other times, God simply speaks directly to you. He may answer you or simply remind you that you are loved and known by Him. A couple mornings back, I sat with my boys at breakfast and we read through their devotional. It was the story of Jacob’s dream and the staircase to heaven. The Bible truth was God is always with you. My boys and I discussed the story and memorized the Bible verse, then they went off to play so I could have my morning Bible time. I simply flipped through my Bible and opened up to Hosea. I had read it before and new that it was the beautiful depiction of God’s faithfulness to His adulterous chosen people. What I had not remembered was Hosea referring to the same bible story I had read that morning to my boys. All I could do was pause and just sit in His presence. What an incredible way to say, “Hey, I am God! I am with you! I am near to you always.” It’s in these small moments that we can choose to pause and embrace God or simply carry on with our days. I choose to pause and embrace Him. Recently, a friend shared with me, “That God answers us in our stillness.” When we take the time to be still and get into His Word, that is when we will feel His presence and know that He is with us.

Convict

“All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16

Scripture encourages us to grow and mature in our faith. That means we should constantly be changed and refined. Many God moments are felt through His Spirit convicting us in areas where we need to submit and repent to Him. He uses His Word to bring light to our darkness and sin, He convicts and humbles us to submission, He rebukes us as a loving Father disciplines his children. In the book of John Jesus says,

Jesus gave us His Spirit to help us grow more in His-likeness. He knew we could not do it on our own, but rather we needed His Spirit to identify the sin in our lives that keeps us away from God. His Spirit works through our conscience to make us aware of the sin in our lives. His words instruct and counsel us on how to live our lives that bring glory to Him.

I encourage you to pause and think on the times God has made Himself known to you. Record them in a journal or simply share with a friend or spouse. Take time to thank Him for His faithfulness.

Many Blessings!

SHARE: I’d love to hear from you about a God moment that you’ve experienced in your own life.