Experiencing God's Presence #126

Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!

Genesis 1:31

We look for God in the unusual and the miraculous, so we seek the supernatural as a point of contact with His Presence. If it’s beyond explanation, then we can know we’ve encountered Him. We crave clear-cut evidence of the divine.

God certainly does supernatural things, and He loves inspiring awe and wonder with His works. But if our encounters with Him are dependent entirely on miraculous signs, we’ll have a hit-and-miss relationship with Him that never quite satisfies. That’s because His wonders aren’t everyday occurrences; otherwise, they would become “normal” and cease to be wonders. They are encouraging when they happen, but they aren’t the substance of a true relationship. We have to know Him more constantly than that.

Look for God in the “ordinary,” realizing, of course, that nothing is really ordinary. All of His works are good, miracles of a voice that spoke creation into existence. If you can notice God’s power and artistry in a sunrise, a smile, a blade of grass, a spider’s web, or a conversation with a friend, you can encounter Him at any given moment of any given day. Any experience, no matter how unnoticed by others, can turn into a prayer of thanks, a hopeful impulse, a treasured moment, an awareness of the transcendent God. He stands by His creation and all its intricacies and relationships, observing with pleasure all that is good. When you do the same, your heart is in sync with His. And when you sense His heartbeat and His Presence, nothing is ordinary anymore.

Lord, I take so much for granted. Every moment is a gift, and every observation can turn into appreciation for the Giver. Help me appreciate You in everything I see and experience today.

From the book