When is the last time you can remember being fully aware of God in the present moment?
Note that I’m not asking about the last time you:
- thought about God;
- worshipped God;
- studied about God;
- reached out to God through prayer; or
- did something in service to God.
I’m also not asking you to think about a moment in the past when, in retrospect, you might say, “God was surely with me then.”
Instead, the question is, “When was the last moment you personally experienced an awareness of God being with you?”
I suspect that, for many of us, a good part of our lives are about God, but we’re much less aware of being with God.
Knowing God
The question is important, because knowing God is not essentially about:
- having intellectual knowledge of God;
- participating in religious rituals;
- talking to God; or
- performing good deeds in God’s name.
Knowing God involves having a genuine encounter and ongoing relationship with God. And that begins with a personal, intimate awareness of being in God’s presence.
Imagine that a loved one wants to spend some time with you, but your response is, “Not now, honey, I’m actually reading an article about you.” Or, “I’m in the middle of telling someone how great you are.” Or, “I already sent you a text today.”
There might be some value in each of those activities, but they are not what your loved one needs in that moment, and thus they are actually preventing you from strengthening your relationship with him or her.
In the same way, the only time when we can truly strengthen our relationship with God is the present moment. And the only way to do so is to truly be with, and not just about God. It begins with cultivating an awareness of God.
That’s why I’ve identified awareness as one of the pillars of spiritual wellness. Relationships are built on our awareness of the other.
Showing Up
There’s a saying that has made its way into church culture over the last several years, in which people express their hope or desire about a worship service or other event by saying, “Let’s pray that God shows up.”
Now, I’m not criticizing, because I’m pretty sure I know what is meant by that. But every time I hear the phrase, I want to say, “God doesn’t need to show up. God is always here.” The question isn’t whether God is going to show up. It’s whether we will be aware of and open to God’s presence. It’s whether we will show up in the moment when God is reaching out to us.
Becoming Aware
Now, let’s get really practical for a moment. How can we become more aware of God’s presence in our daily lives. There is more than one way to do so, but I’ll suggest we begin by simply setting aside a few minutes each day to practice. It doesn’t really matter when or where, since God is always with us. It just takes the desire to slow down long enough to let God’s presence become real to us.
Let me be absolutely clear. I’m not talking about studying the Bible or saying a prayer. Both of those can be good things, but I’m talking about something much more basic—taking a bit of time, wherever you are, to seek God and let God’s presence become real to you.
Seeing Christ
Now, when you’re seeking God in the moment, let me give you a hint of where to look. The answer is found in Colossians 3:11, where the apostle Paul said, “But Christ is all, and is in all.”
Take a minute to let that one sink in:
Christ is all, and is in all.
Theologians have many different ways of explaining why Paul didn’t really mean what he said. But Paul was absolutely clear. He was so clear that practically all the Bible translations translate this verse in pretty much the same way: Christ is all, and is in all.
So, what does that mean? It means that you can see Christ in anything and everything he created. It means that from your seat right now, if you pay close enough attention, you can find Christ literally anywhere and everywhere. I can’t explain it. But it has to be true, or God is not God. If God is not present everywhere—and in every thing—then he is not God.
One of the most common ways people first recognize and experience an awareness of Christ’s presence is when they see Christ in another person. I’ve said it many, many times over the years—both in speaking and in writing—and have never had anyone disagree with me: For many of us, the first time we ever truly experienced the love of God was through the love of another person. The first time we experienced the kindness and gentleness of God is in the kindness and gentleness of another person in whom God lives.
Making a Habit
So I invite you to make it a habit, whether once a day or several times a day, to take a few moments to ask, where do I see God right now in this present moment? How can I know God’s love in this present moment? And then, just sit still, clear your mind, calm your spirit, and let God’s love surround you and fill you. By doing so, you will be cultivating an awareness of God.
Knowing God and God’s love—not just objectively, but subjectively—is the foundation of an ongoing relationship with God. And cultivating an awareness of God is one of the key pillars of spiritual wellness.
This is Part One of a series on Pillars of Spiritual Wellness. Read the second post – Paying Attention to Truth