How do you experience God? I’m not talking about some mushy gushy feeling that you long to recapture. I’m talking about reality. In what way do you KNOW that you know that you KNOW God (as Kay Arthur would say)?
The girls, my Bible Study girls—that is, and I met this past Sunday night. We typically meet every other Sunday. I’ve really begun to look forward to this time. I love my husband and my children, but this has become a special night for us moms to get together in Kathleen’s basement, under low lighting, and get real with how we REALLY are.
For several years, we met as couples. At first, the kids were with us. But then many of us began to take God in a very literal way . . . and we continued to have more and more children. So we had to hire a babysitter.
As the group grew bigger, we kind of lost a bit of intimacy. Due to nursing, having a young toddler, early bedtimes, blah, blah, blah, I missed a lot of the studies. It made me sad, bitter, lonely, and feeling disconnected. If I was feeling this, we figured that others must be too.
In an effort to regain what we once had, we decided to radically change our Home Fellowship. We split into guys and girls – no kids.
I don’t know what the guys study is like, but I do know that us girls stay out later. Someone has usually gotten teary. And at least one of us has been brutally honest. Yea, especially to a guy—that might not sound like a lot of fun. But it is so nice to have people KNOW you.
Speaking of knowing . . . how do you know God? In what ways have you experienced Him? Let me give you a list of names, titles, or descriptions of God. I want you to print it out . . . read it . . . and check off the titles that describe God in the way you have personally experienced Him or KNOWN Him.
How Have You Experienced GodAfterwards, I want you to consider how you want to come to KNOW God in the near future. (A big thanks to Renee who made us do this very exercise at Bible Study.)
Me? I’m praying to know God as Our Peace (Ephesians 2:14) and My Hiding Place (Psalm 32:7). The reason I have chosen these two ways to KNOW God is because as a mom I often don’t feel peace and sometimes I kind of want to run away . . . three boys is a lot of activity and noise. The reality is that I can’t always go somewhere quiet and I can’t make my children be silent and get along. So instead of fretting and getting stressed, I can avoid becoming like an erupting volcano if God is My Peace and My Hiding Place.
I pray that you enjoy this little exercise. I so hope that you take the time to consider God in your life and the ways in which He has shown up in your life.
