Unlock Your Way of Experiencing GodEsimerkki

In today's reading, we will discuss a way to experience God, who is near and dear to my heart: teaching. To get an accurate idea of this concept, I need you to paint a picture for you in your mind. Close your eyes and imagine the pastor at your church or perhaps your favorite preacher you watch online or on TV.

If you're part of a local church and have been for a while, I want you to try to remember a great sermon or message. Our pastor calls them "anchor messages." Remember the moment that God revealed something to you in that message, gave you some profound insight, or answered a lingering question that spoke deep to your soul. Remember that feeling? That closeness to God and how it seemed like the entire sermon was just for you. That feeling, that closeness with God, and that overwhelming sense of love and acceptance is precisely what pastors experience every time they preach!

I am blessed with the opportunity to teach people daily through biblical pastoral counseling regarding spiritual principles that affect their lives. I get the blessing to teach them about marriage and parenting, how to allow Jesus to come in and heal the hurt and trauma of their past, the power of forgiveness, and how to forgive practically. I teach people about spiritual bondage and how to find freedom from strongholds, addictions, and toxic thinking. After every single session, and there have been many, I feel a deep and significant connection to God.

You might be reading this and saying to yourself, "Nope! That's not for me. I hate teaching, I hate having all eyes on me, I hate being the center of attention, I lock up, and I would rather drill a hole in my left foot." That's okay; it simply means this isn't one of your primary connection points with God. But hopefully, you can see how it could be someone else's.

Our 10th and final way of experiencing God is through tradition. The concept of various ways we experience God was actually birthed from tradition. This story begins over ten years ago.

There was a guy I was mentoring, and we formed an intense and profound personal friendship. I respected him immensely, and he respected me. One day, after work, we met to chat and catch up. We discussed work and other personal things when he casually shared that he and his wife had decided to visit a new church. I responded, "I think that that's great!" He looked at me, a little puzzled, and asked, "Why?" This is where it went off the rails. My response was, "Because I think your old church is dead & I think the one you visited is a great church." (I am intentionally not going to use the name of either church)

He was instantly indignant and began to attack me and my church. He called my church shallow, nothing more than a rock concert, and that I was way off base. I was shell-shocked. I meant it as a compliment to their new potential church, but it was deeply offensive to him on behalf of the church body they had been a part of for almost ten years. He angrily stood up, walked out, got into his car, and drove off. I was like, "What in the world just happened????"

I gave it a few days to let emotions subside, and then I texted him. The text was, "I am so sorry for what I said. Could we meet up to talk?"" He graciously agreed, so we met up a few days later.

Without almost any thought and absolutely no premeditation, I ask him this question... " Tell me what you like about your church?" This question perplexed him a little. His face changed, his body relaxed, and he slumped in his chair. It was completely silent for about 30 seconds (in my years of experience doing ministry, awkward silences are often followed by very profound thoughts or statements, and this time was no exception). Then he sipped his drink and made straightforward eye contact with me. He said, "When I walk into the sanctuary, and I smell the incense, I hear the organ music playing through those majestic brass pipes, when I see sunlight shimmering through the stained glass windows and the story that it's portraying, and when I see the life-size crucifix hanging at the front of the room, it all reminds me just how big God is and just how small I am, and it prepares my heart to worship and receive Him."

I don't understand that these deeply held religious practices and traditions can be a very real and true way of experiencing God for so many people. How could I argue with my friend about him experiencing God like this? These acts' rich history and holiness draw him closer to his Heavenly Father. This is something that should be celebrated and appreciated, not criticized and used as a divisive tool of the enemy.

I hope today's reading has stretched your understanding and expanded your acceptance of our brothers and sisters worldwide who love Jesus and worship God, even if they do it in a way that is very different from what you and I may practice.