To read Experiencing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Part 1, click here.

God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. In other words, He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere, all the time. This means we can encounter God anywhere, anytime. God created us to experience Him throughout each day. How? By increasing our awareness of God in all things. I find that moving toward gratitude throughout my day opens my eyes to see God’s goodness.

Recently my daughter, Bryn, and I were asked to submit answers to a few questions for a TV show. We intentionally answered and submitted them separately. One of the questions was:

Where and how do you experience God?

Bryn’s answer: I experience God in everything I do. Whether that’s talking to friends or in prayer focusing on Him. I see God in believers and unbelievers. I see God in families and in children. I see God in nature and in beautiful things. At this point of my walk with the Lord it would be hard for me to not see Him. He literally made everything and everyone. Even people who feel they are far from God can teach us about the heart of God in different ways. Seeing different cultures and expressions of diversity shows me God. You can learn about God through anyone, anytime. Not just mature believers.

Bryan’s answer: Jesus is all in all. Literally everywhere. The Word of God is alive and active. His Word is a place of encounter. Jesus is the Word made flesh. His Kingdom is within, our indwelling God. His Kingdom is at hand. My office is a place of encountering the Lord. A place of worship and prayer (with a prayer room) and regular time with the Lord creates a place of His presence. Observing His creation. Living in constant awareness of God, seeing Him in people, hearing His voice, recent multi-week Holy Spirit adventure, experiencing Him in the good times and in suffering, the highs and lows of life. In Him we live, move, and have our being. Where there is life, there is God. Where there is love, there is God. In the suffering, there is God. In all of creation, there is God! To be still and know that I am Lord, stillness especially in the early morning, friendship with the Lord of the Universe, thankfulness, listening to the birds, watching the sky, sunrise & sunsets, being by the water and in all of nature, living in awareness of Him and all His creation, billboards, journaling, listening, talking with Him, encounters, seeing Him in others regardless of who they are. Simply talking with God as my friend.

I was pleasantly surprised at how similar our answers were and the broadness of our awareness of His presence. Of course, we both go through times where we don’t sense or feel Him in our daily walk, but the truth is God is always present. We can enter into an experience with God anytime. He is always speaking, but we must be attuned to His voice.

God is never distant, but rather our ability to see and hear Him is a process within us that is unfolding. Sometimes we call these wilderness seasons, which are a part of God’s plan to mature us.

Pause for a moment and ask: God, where are you right now? Consider journaling what God is saying or revealing to you. In quiet, ask and listen: God, what are you saying?

Once during a prayer call, I remember sensing Jesus in front of me kissing my forehead. Then, totally unprompted, one of the women on the call said, “Jesus is here, and He is giving each of us a kiss on our forehead.” These types of confirmations come from time to time and are so confirming as we become more sensitive to the Spirit.

Enjoying God

Living in awareness of God and experiencing Him has made all the difference in my life. This is the key to relationship (friendship, communication, experiences, rest, peace, etc.) and closes the door to religion (striving, earning, knowledge, empty doctrine, etc.). This is why we were created!

Our highest calling is to enjoy God and live in relationship as His family for now and all of eternity. To know Him and make Him known. We need not wait to die to experience God. We are in the world but not of the world. We are part of God’s Kingdom now and not the kingdom of this world. As I experience God, even in the smallest of ways, I am transformed. Every encounter leaves us changed.

God’s glory, His manifested presence which encompasses His radiant beauty, His light, His splendor, His nature, His power, His creation, His love, His joy, His grace, His mercy, His goodness, His freedom, His wisdom, His wholeness, His perfection, etc., are being unveiled within us as we are being conformed into the image of Jesus. His glory and the manifestation of His glory are infinite as God is infinite.

Pause and take a moment to reflect on all of the different ways you display Jesus and His glory to the world. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this to you. Consider writing this down and continue expanding on it in the coming days as more is revealed to you by the power of Jesus and sensitivity to the Spirit.