{"id":333,"date":"2013-06-10T15:01:55","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T15:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/safeplacewithruthgraham\/?p=333"},"modified":"2013-06-10T15:01:55","modified_gmt":"2013-06-10T15:01:55","slug":"how-do-we-experience-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/safeplacewithruthgraham\/2013\/06\/how-do-we-experience-god.html","title":{"rendered":"How Do We Experience God?"},"content":{"rendered":"

H0w do I know personally<\/em> when God is present with me or that I am personally<\/em> in the presence of God? Both objectively and subjectively.<\/p>\n

I know God’s presence by faith. I don’t always FEEL it. Far from it – sometimes I FEEL as if He is absent and I\u00a0get angry with Him. I know He is bigger than my anger and questions. I have only to look at Job’s life or Jeremiah’s. Even Jesus’ life. They had questions and anger towards God. But bottom line – they trusted. They are an example for us. I trust His word (the Bible) and His promises.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I do not feel<\/em> God’s presence in my life \u00a0but He can silent when I ask for direction. I have faith that answers will come in His time – not mine. And in His way – He will make them known to me. It is faith. He is there whether I feel<\/em> it or not. God promises that He will never leave me or forsake me. It isn’t about feelings but the fact of His promises. I stand on those facts.<\/p>\n

Not easy. I tend to be impatient but God has taught me a lot about just being still and letting Him be God. (In my life, I made horrible mistakes not waiting on God.)<\/p>\n

Others may put it this way, “Things happen as they are supposed to.” I agree but I believe that the hand of God orchestrates it all – even to the last detail. It isn’t fate or karma. It is God’s design for his child who has placed his\/her faith in Him. I know He loves me and has good things planned for me so I can quit trying to control things. And when I fail miserably, I know He has the power to take my mistakes and redeem them for His glory.<\/p>\n

I have only to look at my own life to know the truth of that.<\/p>\n

I think gratitude has a lot to do with sensing His presence.<\/p>\n

I am also aware that God uses real people in my life to make me aware of His presence. Sometimes even animals! It may be a word that hits me at a particular moment, a sermon I feel is just for me, a cat that curls up behind my neck purring when I am about to “lose it”, many different moments and things…<\/p>\n

Being in nature…for me it is the beach…you sense God majesty. Some may say that it’s “just beauty”. For a child of God it is more than that. It is a glimpse of God and an experience in His presence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

H0w do I know personally when God is present with me or that I am personally in the presence of God? Both objectively and subjectively. I know God’s presence by faith. I don’t always FEEL it. Far from it – sometimes I FEEL as if He is absent and I\u00a0get angry with Him. I know…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,32,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-how-do-we-experience-god","category-personal-thoughts"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Do We Experience God? - Safe Place with Ruth Graham<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/safeplacewithruthgraham\/2013\/06\/how-do-we-experience-god.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Do We Experience God? - Safe Place with Ruth Graham\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"H0w do I know personally when God is present with me or that I am personally in the presence of God? 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