"God is Closer Than You Think"

"There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving you room to recognize him or not...because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace."
- Frederick Buechner



Karen and I are once again venturing through a book together. It's great to have a friend to keep me accountable with reading and to bounce thoughts off of. We're reading John Ortberg's book called God is Closer Than You Think. In case you haven't perused through this book, I thought I'd give you a sampling of what it's about. I'm not sure if anyone can relate to me with this, but sometimes I just feel like God is distant...like he's disconnected and hiding himself. Ortberg uses beautiful imagery and illustrations to unveil some core truths about God's presence. First of all, God is with us. As he reminds his readers, "The most frequent promise in the Bible is 'I will be with you.'" Secondly, he states that sometimes God isn't easy to find. He compares it to searching through a Where's Waldo? book. He then divulges practical ways of intentionally searching for God's involvement on a daily basis and discusses how we can draw closer to God even when he feels absent.

In the first chapter, he challenges his readers to review for two weeks what he calls the "Foundational Truths of My Life with God." As you read through these, which do you resonate with or find to be a good reminder?

- God is always present and active in my life, whether or not I see him.
- Coming to recognize and experience God's presence is learned behavior; I can cultivate it.
- My task is to meet God in this moment.
- I am always tempted to live "outside" this moment. When I do that, I lose my sense of God's presence.
- Sometimes God seems far away for reasons I do not understand. Those moments, too, are opportunities to learn.
- Whenever I fail, I can always start again right away.
- No one knows the full extent to which a human being can experience God's presence.
- My desire for God ebbs and flows, but his desire for me is constant.
- Every thought carries a "spiritual charge" that moves me a little closer to or a little farther from God.
- Every aspect of my life--work, relationships, hobbies, errands--is of immense and genuine interest to God.
- My path to experiencing God's presence will not look quite like anyone else's.
- Straining and trying too hard do not help.

Isn't it great that God is waiting for us to meet him in this moment? And that our closeness with God isn't based on our emotional high's and low's? And what about the fact that He's enthralled with our ordinary, routine lives?!
Good thoughts to ponder...