Recently someone asked me the seemingly simple question "how do I find God in my life?". Such a simple question, should provide a simple answer, right? I mean we know that God is all around us, "omnipresent" if you will. We know that He doesn't hide from any of us. In fact, we know through His word that his Holy Spirit lives IN us. Yet I found myself struggling to find a "simple" answer.
Not wanting to leave my friend empty handed in her brave and commendable search to know Him, I gave her the simplest response I could give her. I explained the importance of "relationship" and gave her advice on how to start building it. Reading it back, you would think that what I said was correct; it was helpful, easy to follow, and probably the sort of response she was looking for. Yet I couldn't help but feel like I had left something out... and I had. In fact, I had completely misinformed her. And in doing so, I realised how misinformed I had been in the beginnings of my relationship with Him. So instead of simply messaging her the answer i've concluded with, I thought it would be worth posting on here.
Question: "How do I find God in my life?"
Answer: "You don't."
Hear me out. The BIGGEST mistake I ever made in my relationship with God was constantly seeking out where He was in MY LIFE. Don't get me wrong, I found God - over and over I found Him... but over and over I lost Him. Why? Because instead of seeking Him, I was seeking for His PLACE in MY life. And newsflash; God is far, FAR too big for mine, or any one of our lives.
"Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." Luke 17:33 KJV
The question I would urge anyone trying to find God to ask is: "How do I find myself in God?".
I can't give a perfect answer, because everyone's journey and relationship is different, but I can tell you some of the key ways that I do it. Firstly, you need to seek God's truth about who YOU are in him - all of which you can find in God's handy dandy notebook (the Holy Bible). Here are a few key truths God has written for you to discover about yourself:
You have been CHOSEN, from the beginning.
"...because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:" 2 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV
By His grace you are REDEEMED.
"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" Ephesians 1:7 KJV
You are FORGIVEN.
"As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." Psalms 103:12
You are LOVED.
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10 KJV
These are only four of a whole lot more truths than I can count, the truth about your identity and who you were created to be. You can find the rest in your bible, or if that's too much to ask to start off with you can literally google "who I am in Christ" and you'll see thousands of results. No one is too far gone to walk in the purpose God has for them, and to walk in relationship with Him. He knew you before your mother even thought about you, he CHOSE you for a specific purpose, designed for your hands alone. He loved and will never stop loving you, and he has already forgiven you, and will redeem you when you walk towards him.
So, to my friend - this is the advice I should have given you from the start, and I hope this encourages you to seek your identity through Christ, then relationship will follow. Although I will say, it's easy to forget these things, you need to remind yourself everyday, and don't let the enemy cover the truth with His lies. You are so much more valued than you will ever know. So, so loved, is WHO you are, through him.
Until next time,
Mikayla Katherine xx
