Interrupted By Jesus

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

—Matthew 5:8

When we connect with Jesus and see Him, we will be changed. Changed in the best kind of way. Jesus will be so real that we won’t be able to be anything but completely devoted to Him.

I can hardly go through anything in life without seeing God’s hand in it. Layer upon layer of these constant experiences with God have built a very secure foundation of faith.

This raises a few concerns. Am I overspiritualizing my life? What if I don’t have these experiences, or what if an experience I attribute to God isn’t from Him at all? I understand these questions. I remember being skeptical. Part of me wanted something deeper with God, but I was scared.

A larger part of me wanted God to be explainable and safe. Fitting Him in a box ensured that I ran no risk of being interrupted by Him. I just wanted to do my part (be good) and have Him do His (bless me). It was a comfortable arrangement. But it was also the very perspective that numbed my spirit and rendered my faith ineffective.

I remember hearing my Bible friends talking freely about hearing from God and seeing Him in remarkable ways. I called them my “Bible friends” while my eyes rolled and my voice mocked their enthusiasm.

Finally God got a hold of me while I was reading Henry Blackaby’s book Experiencing God, in which he encourages us to look for God’s activity all around us. There was not even a hint of doubt in Blackaby’s statements. He was absolutely certain that if we desired to see God, we would.

It is possible for God’s Spirit to reveal to us the deep things of God.

Paul writes to the Corinthian church, “It is written: ‘What no eye has seen, and what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10, emphasis mine).

If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we have God’s Spirit in us. Therefore, it is possible for God’s Spirit to reveal to us the deep things of God.

How does this happen most often? In the midst of everyday life using everyday things. Divine mixed in our mundane. It’s the stuff all Jesus’ parables were made of.

So what do you do if you aren’t currently experiencing God in this way? The Bible tells us that those with a pure heart will see God (Matthew 5:8). It doesn’t say we have to be perfect or perfectly ready; it just says that we have to get to a place where our hearts purely desire to see Him—and then we will.

Tell God of your desires. Ask Him to reveal anything that may be blocking your view. And then start looking. Seeing God changes us, grows us, and strengthens us to become more than people with mere knowledge of God. We become changed people who live out the reality of God.

Dear Lord, I want to see Your hand and hear Your voice in my life. Please show me if there are things that block my view of You, so I can deal with them. I want to see You and be changed by You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.