Henry Blackaby wrote Experiencing God back in 1990. It’s one of those old school books to which I return, over and over again. It’s old school, but it’s also timeless. I don’t know about you, but one of the tricky things about following a God you can’t see is wondering if you’re interpreting things correctly. Henry Blackaby tries to help me sort things out.
A lot of people ask, “How do I know if God is speaking to me, or if I’m talking to myself in a voice I think sounds like God?” In Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby builds on seven points, and here’s the fourth point: God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes and His ways.
Of these, I think the easiest one for me to recognize is when God speaks to me through the church — real people I know, who are doing their best to follow God in their every day lives. They may be people who actually go to my physical church, or people I’ve met here or on social media or in my neighborhood or in the grocery store. They may be strangers, or they may be people who love me and who have my best interest at heart.
Last weekend, God spoke right to me. God lounged on one of the queen sized beds in my hotel room and propped me up where my heart was sagging. God opened up a bottle of wine and a tub of ginger snaps and filled my soul. God wore borrowed shoes and sat in a desk chair and reminded me how Light is stronger than darkness. God raised a few glasses in my direction and reassured me he loves us all, just the way we are.
There are days I miss it, that’s for sure. Sometimes it’s not until an entire week or year or decade later that I look back and say, “Oh my goodness! That was God right there!” But I saw it this weekend. Clear as day. God in pjs and denim and cute scarves and unfinished stories and laughter and just-one-more-cookie and weary from the journey. Right there in front of my face and absolutely beautiful in every way.
Sometimes, it’s way less complicated than I lead myself to believe.