Experiencing God (March 31, 2025)

Listen here:  https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/351de7c9/experiencing-god

Experiencing the Faithfulness of God.

There is no point in putting our faith in anything we do not find trustworthy.  

It is not reasonable to trust God unless we have found him faithful.

On Saturday, I spoke at a Mentoring day at my church that was so very rich. I noticed something: the word 'mentor' seems to elicit a response - either the recollection of a meaningful relationship enjoyed, or the thought, 'mentor, huh, what in the world could I offer someone?' It was mine to drill down on that question, to speak on the many elements of our lives that surface as we do a little personal stock-taking. Besides our vocation, skills, interests, experiences, we can encourage someone else from our defining moments, especially battles fought and storms weathered, for example..

Naturally, I shared from my own life - and was reminded just how good God has been to me, especially as I reflected on the trials, the battles, the storms...

I have experienced God through his presence, peace, love, grace and forgiveness. 

Presence – I have felt the nearness of God, and the hush of the divine has at times been so near it brushed my cheek. Why, it was as though I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck, whispering 'Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear my voice, saying, “This is the way; walk in it"1

Peace – I have experienced God through a keen awareness of his peace.  My favorite verse for a number of years running was “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.”² Jesus’ words were life to me, and helped me trust him for peace—when it was illogical, even unnatural to be at peace.  

Love – From the time I was little more than knee-high, I knew that ‘God loved me so much, he gave his Son to die for my sins,’³ and that kind of sacrificial love became a measuring stick in my life.  To really love another is to be willing to give of myself to them, sacrificially.  I have been a rich woman, loving and being loved by many over my lifetime … all because of the faithfulness of God’s love—truly.

Grace – It is the grace of God that sustains me—especially when it feels like I am hanging by a thread. Though I have not been imprisoned or beaten like him, I do relate to Paul’s sentiments as he refers to some unnamed, but constant ailment: “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”⁴ So far, God has not healed me of fibromyalgia, which I have had for 35 years…but, his grace has sustained me.  Two bad car accidents, Cat Scratch Fever then went septic, thyroid cancer, I could go on... There were times when I was speaking or leading a group in a lot of pain, but when I prayed and asked God for grace to represent him well, he lovingly supplied it.  

You see, I do not want to just barely get it done—not when I am speaking or teaching—after all, who wants to listen to a sniveler?  I want to represent the Lord with excellence and he has always been faithful to give me what I needed.  I have experienced God's goodness.

Forgiveness – For certain, I know God’s faithfulness in the area of forgiveness.  I am a sinner, who has fallen more times than I can count, sometimes my guilt weighing me down so much, I might as well be buried under a load of marred and broken bricks.  And then I remember: ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’⁵ 

And so I do … confess my sin, and then he does … forgive me; then he cleans me up, brushes me off, and stands me on my feet again.  He takes away the heavy load of guilt as only he can do, because there is a wideness in his mercy.

Just five areas in which I have experienced God and know the faithfulness of God in my life—besides answered prayer, joy, contentment, healing/regeneration, spiritual and character growth…

Think about it. How have you experienced God in your life?  

Throwing it back to this song: “Never once” by Matt Redman 

Please take a minute to listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=722zPX1npcA

I close with a question:

Are you daily experiencing God?

Christine

PastorWoman.net

^{1 – Isaiah 30.21}

^{2 – John 14.27}

^{3 – loose paraphrase John 3.16}  

^{4 – 2 Corinthians 12.8-9}

^{5 – 1 John 1.9}