Why do we miss God?

I was looking at my bookcase the other day, and I did a quick count of the Bibles that I have.  Currently, I have 6 study Bibles and a dozen or so other Bibles.  I own concordances, commentaries, and I don't know how many books about God, prayer, living the Christian life, etc. 

That doesn't include access to the Internet, where it is possible to find just about any resource imaginable in accessing the Bible.  For goodness sakes, if I want to quote scripture in the blog, I don't even need to know the verse or what book it was in to find it- all I have to do is Google it!

I don't think I'm alone in this abundance of Biblical materials.  A recent survey by the American Bible Society (2011) showed that 83% of Americans have a Bible in their homes.   The access of Biblical knowledge available to our society today is unprecedented in history.  We are also extremely blessed to live in a country that allows us complete access to that information with no threat of persecution. 

Is the Bible supposed to be end all be all of God?  Or is it a treasure map that points us to the greatest treasure there is?  Is it a book that helps us understand the nature of God better, and what He expects of us?  In our current Christian culture, do we spend more time reading about our God or actually getting to know Him?

One thing I do want to make clear before I go any further that I have nothing against Bible study or in having sound doctrine.  There certainly is a place to that and it is extremely important.  My concern is that the average believer is consuming a sea of sermons, pod casts, Christian writing, etc. and does not spend enough time communicating with God.  Why is that?

With that being said, I am just as guilty as the next person of this.  I have been known to spend way more time reading about the Bible or other people's commentary about God, prayer, etc. rather than actually spending time in prayer with God.

So why do like to read about God but never get to know Him?

Drawing upon personal experience, and from what I've seen with others in their walk it seems there are several reason why we do this.

-Excuses.  By nature we are selfish creatures, and spending time in prayer takes effort and time.  Just like working out, there are lots of reasons to come up with excuses.  Lots of reasons not to make the time.  In my modern, busy life, if I don't make time for something it will never happen.  Prayer is one of those things.

-Distractions.  Let's face it, there are a ton of ways to deaden our sense these days and distract ourselves.  Phones, texting, Facebook, Twitter, etc.   On top of that there are tons of ways to numb ourselves and tune out that inner voice trying to get our attention.  From TV, Internet, movies, sports, games: the list is endless!  Not that any of those things are bad by themselves, but they can easily become idols in our lives.

-Stuck in a rut of religious obligation.  Although that is a deep subject that could have it's own book written about it, I'll try to sum it up here.  I know I've been there before, where I've felt stuck in a rut. 
I'm on every committee, volunteering for every activity.  After a while I realize that I'm spending so much time doing stuff for God, I never get to know if I'm even doing what God wants me to do!

All that being said, what do we do about it?  What really helps?  Although I don't have any easy answers, I've found a few things that have helped me out:

1.  Daily scripture reading.  It can start with just a chapter a day of a book in the Bible, and it may expand over time to several chapters a day.  This may not be groundbreaking advice I realize, but it is necessary.  If you aren't sure where to get started, there are hundreds of reading plans that are out there.  Personally, I prefer to start with a book, and keep reading them in order.  I have found plans where I read part of the Old Testament, New Testament, etc. all together each day loses focus on the book I am reading. 

2.  Daily prayer.  This doesn't need to be complicated, just needs to be a daily practice.  Like exercise, you won't find time to do this.  Life is just too darn busy for that.  Instead you will have to make the time.  Find that quiet space and time (it can even be your car) and use that time to get close to God.

3.  Fasting.  This maybe something you have tried before, or something brand new to you.  I am just beginning to start this practice, but there is a reason this is mentioned in the Bible.  Start small, maybe just by setting aside 1 meal aside a week and instead of eating spend that time with God.  It can be quite rewarding!  Then move up to fasting for two meals, and then an entire day. 

I know that when I practice what I just listed above, I find myself much closer to God, and my whole outlook on life changes.  When I spend less time with God (even if I am being  busy "doing" things for God) I find myself drifting away and getting distracted.  I lose focus on what's really important, and how I treat people around me changes completely. 

I hope this helps you on your journey, and I welcome comments below on what has helped you on staying close to God. 

God Bless!

Trusting God

One of the things I struggle with is trusting God with everything in my life.   There are areas where I truly do trust Him, and I have no issues turning it over to Him.

With other parts of my life, I am not so successful in doing so.  In those areas I stress, get worried, can be short tempered about them, and generally do not feel secure about them.  In those areas of my life I can be defensive and not ready to share them with others.

I don't think I'm alone in this.  I think most of us have areas we are not ready to let God into, and certainly not trust Him enough to have control in those areas.  There are those "special" spiritual people that we know in our lives (or have heard about, read their books, etc.). They are the ones who seem to have a sense of peace in their lives.  I think that one of the keys to their sense of peace is that they trust God.  They do not worry about health, finances, family, etc.  They know that God is in control, even when they don't fully  understand what God's plan is for them.

God does actually ask us to do this as well, as scripture clearly states.  Here are a couple of verses that talk about how we are to trust God:

Psalm 18:2


The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Proverbs 3:5


Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.

Micah 7:7


But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.

There are many more verses to quote, but this gives you a pretty good idea.  I particularly like Micah there, for if you read the whole chapter, he is talking about how wicked the days are, how can any man "have confidence in a friend" and such.  Certainly sounds like some of the rougher parts I've had in my life.

Since I've struggled in this area, I decided to bring if before God in prayer.  I wanted to earnestly seek his guidance in this area, and see what He would reveal to me.  I understand from reading the Bible that I should trust God (one does not need to be a Bible scholar to figure that one out) but the question I have was how do I go about it?

Here is what I've found:



1.  Release control.

As I prayed about this, and sought what God had to say I realized that I had to strip away some illusions I had about myself.  One of those illusions is that I control anything.  As I prayed through this, I realized that there is nothing I truly control.  I don't control my work, my family (certainly not my wife :) ), or my circumstances.  Even my own body does not always obey me.  I certainly am learning that as I get older!
And that is not to take away the fact that the decisions we make impact what happens in our lives.  They do, and we need to take responsibility for our choices.  But ultimately I can struggle with something as much as I want, but if God does not will it, then it won't happen.

I know this is something easy to write out, but it is much harder to put it into practice.  I don't know if releasing control is something that I will ever completely master.  But I do know this: when I do release control and strop struggling I find I have a lot more peace and a lot less stress in my life.

2.  Turn it over to God.

The second part of this is to turn that area of our lives that we want to grasp onto with all our might and turn it over to God.  By that I mean that I consciously release any struggle for control of that thing and give it over to God.  The best indicator of what I need to give to God?  Just pick the thing I'm most stressed about, and that is most likely what I need to give to Him.

There are many ways to turn it over to God, but I way I've found most effective is to do so in prayer.  I actually hand the thing that is most stressing me over to Him, and I can feel an almost immediate sense of relief.

3.  Seek God's wisdom.

The final part of this in trusting God is to see what He says about the subject. Obviously there is God's word to turn to, as that there is much wisdom in there. However, the Bible can't be read as you read an owners manual. Although that would be nice sometimes!
Another way to seek God's wisdom is through prayer. I know I struggle finding enough time but it can't be stressed enough how critical this is. I know when I spending time in prayer, I feel closer to God and I seem to find answers faster. When I pray less, I don't feel as connected to God and I find myself turning to things that are not helpful.

I realize what I have written here isn't revolutionary. My only goal was to pass on what's helped me, and will hopefully help you on your journey.

God Bless!