October 5th: Experiencing God

Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God was so meaningful for me. I first went through it about nineteen years ago, and going through the process was life changing. We had just moved states and churches; I was trying to figure out if my calling to be a teacher would ever come to fruition, and in the meantime I was trying to break into substitute teaching in the nearby districts while finishing my master's in English education.

The idea that God is always at work and we can join Him--that we don't have to wait around for Him to reveal something special or that He sends us off alone to do something huge without His help was enlightening to me. It expanded my view of God exactly when I needed it to. It sunk into my heart and mind and influenced me in my Christian walk.


The basis for the study can be found in the seven realities, found on Henry Blackaby's website:

1. God is always at work around you.
2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
3. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work. 
4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes and His ways. 
5. God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action. 
6. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing. 
7. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.

Since this study initiated a paradigm shift in my heart and mind, it took a while for me to really internalize these truths. Not that the truths were completely foreign, but that they were calling me to a different kind of action that required true faith and trust in God and His plan.

I wish I could say I no longer require the crisis of belief step, but that would be untrue. In fact, I've had several crises of belief and faith in these past nearly twenty years, some of which will be spoken about as I discuss some of the other books I've read that have shaped or helped me through some really difficult situations.

If you haven't yet read the book or done the study, I highly recommend it.

To read more of this #31DaysofBooks series, visit the introduction post.