Unlock Your Way of Experiencing GodEsimerkki

Everyone has a primary way of experiencing God. Most of us also have multiple other connection points, including five or six experiences I listed yesterday. Lastly, you will likely have one or two experiences that mean nothing to you. That's OK.

Community is one of my secondary experiences with God and is towards the very top for my wife. Community is purely this - being around other Christians intentionally. This can look massively different to different people, but here are some examples. It could be at church; you love being around other like-minded people seeking a deeper and more intimate relationship with Jesus. You feel safe around these individuals, feel Jesus's presence, look forward to those interactions, and leave spiritually full after being with them. This can happen at church, in a small home group, in a bible study, in a ministry meeting, at a prayer meeting, etc. This can even happen with a very close set of friends when you are together and talking about the things of God.

We have a small home group of six couples that meet every week to live intentionally together. We go on vacations, pray, study Scripture, hang out, and eat together—often too much.

Recently, my wife and I attended an event with many people. It was a great weekend but emotionally taxing for her. While driving home from the event and sharing what we took away, she looked at me and said, "I can't wait to go to the group tonight and recharge." That's just scratching the surface of the power of being plugged into the body of Christ through community.

The following way we experience God is through Scripture. I can't discuss the Bible without the song rolling through my head, "The B.I.B.L.E., yes that's the book for me, I stand upon the word of God, the B.I.B.L.E." You'll be singing this all day now.

My wife's primary way of experiencing God is through Scripture. She does something called an "inductive Bible study." This is a way to study the Word and glean its clarity and wisdom. She will sit on our back patio with a cup of coffee, her inductive study binder, and her Bible and spend hours deeply connecting with Jesus.

During these studies, she will often experience God deeply and profoundly. After reading and studying Scripture, she ends with a peace and fulfillment that only comes from truly experiencing God. It's a beautiful and soul-restorative time for her. Let me be honest and open; that's not naturally me. Don't get me wrong, I try to spend time with Jesus daily by being in the Word, and I have had some incredible moments of intimacy with God through His Word. I have learned amazing truths and so much about the character and heart of God. But this is not one of the primary ways I experience God…and that's OK.