And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
by C. Austin Miles
That chorus that’s well-known to some reads as if the poet, C. Austin Miles, was encountering God in everyday life. It has that sense of familiar companionship along the way. You read or sing it and think, “O, I wish that were me.” Or, you may say, “That’s not real.” Regardless, there is a sincerity that underlies this simple chorus. It leaves you with the question, can you encounter God in everyday life? Can you encounter God in the midst of the busyness and sometimes chaotic situations that surround you? Here are 3 simple ways to do so.
#1 God In Everyday Life— Thoughts
It’s funny how some things stay with you. A long time ago I came across a poem with the line, “prayers are thoughts turned Godward.” That’s all I remember from that poem. It’s a simple line that reminds you that you can encounter God in everyday life by turning your thoughts toward God. This means that your thoughts can become your prayers. Thus, as you think, you pray while going about your everyday business.
During each day, there will be things that give you joy, and/or overwhelm you, and/or cause you anxiety, and/or make you angry. Give it all to God. As you think about them, and before you even speak, turn your thoughts about them to God. Let those thoughts be a prayer. As you do this, you will find that you encounter God more and more in everyday life. Sometimes this will be accompanied by a sense of God’s presence. There will even be times you will hear God speak to you. In addition, many times you will need to pause.
#2 Pausing to Hear and Sense God in Everyday Life
There are micro pauses and macro pauses. Both involve quieting yourself within—calming and quieting your soul (Psalm 131:2).
A micro pause could be a few minutes or even a few seconds. It is you being fully conscious of God, albeit for a moment. It’s you tuning out the voices and activities around you so that you could, as it were, “check in” with God in an intentional way. It is you making space for the awareness of God’s presence with you. Because of the brevity of these micro pauses, you can take them wherever you are, regardless of the circumstances around you.
The macro pause requires more. It involves stepping aside for a period of time. Depending on what’s going on around you, this may mean physically removing yourself. Or, you may be able to stay where you are but mentally tune out all that’s happening around you. Either way, this is when you create a solid space for intentionally speaking with and listening to God. It may also be the time when you are attentive to reading the Scriptures. However, sometimes you have to go beyond micro and macro pauses to confident assertion.
#3 Doubling Down Like Job to Encounter God
All hell was breaking loose around him and Job confidently asserted, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25). Similarly, there will be times when the only way in which you will encounter God in everyday life is through confident knowing.
You will have those times in your everyday life when you’ve turned your thoughts to God and it’s as if there’s nothing. You’ve paused, and still, it’s as if there is nothing. There is no one there. You’ve examined yourself, dealt with any unconfessed sin before God and still, nothing.
That’s when you have your Job moment. You not only remember God’s promises, and more specifically Jesus’ words. You also confidently assert them to yourself or aloud: “God is with me.” Indeed, the Triune God is with you, for your Redeemer lives. Thus, you continue to turn your thoughts to God and pause because you know that even as your Redeemer lives and is with you, this cloud too will pass.
In many ways, it comes down to knowing who God is so that you encounter God in the everyday and live with confidence. We invite you to join our free webinar and find out more.
Get closer to God and gain a deeper understanding of who God is.
Photo credit: johannesbayer0 /of Pixabay.com
