By Augustus Henry
THERE is a hymn that says “I shall see the king where the angel is; I shall see the king someday.” There is another song which goes, “we shall behold him.” Both of those reference a future experience with God – visualizing a future life with Jesus. What about experiencing him today, in this life? By contrast, there is a song which speaks of a more existential connection with God, which in part states, “…and he walks with me and he talks with me and tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.”
The world around us can be distracting. The stress of our Jobs, the demands of school, the enticement of social media, and the pressures of living can distract us from that holy experience with God, and realizing his impactful presence with us. but there are effective ways of experiencing and seeing God in our daily lives in the present.
The first step is to clear your conscience.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8; 2Cor. 10:5). The inference here is those with a clear conscience will be able to unclog their impure thoughts and see God for who he is, and what he is to us. But what does it mean to purify one’s thoughts?
In 2 Corinthians Paul says it means “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. It implies that we must examine our thinking priorities. Sometimes we make business decisions or personal moves that become so consuming that we do not have time to think about God.
Prioritize God for a clear view.
We go to bed with those decisions on our minds; we sleep, eat, and work totally consumed by those actions with God in the rearview mirror. In these situations, God is just a blur. And even though he may be doing great things for us during our time of great duress, we fail to see it because we are so encumbered by our big decisions and personal goals. Paul warns, for us to see God clearly, we must diminish our own aspiration so that God can become more visible.
Obedience for clarity of vision.
He also advises that we bring to captivity our thoughts. I don’t know anyone who has not experienced strayed thoughts – especially on sleepless nights. Things you never imagined appears in your mind when you can’t fall asleep. Some of those mental images are often wayward, evil, and even potentially depressing. However, Paul believes that we can arrest the products of our mind by subjecting the mind to obedience to the word of God. When the mind strays, if the internal dialogue becomes a discussion between scriptures that you have studied and spontaneous thought, focus-on-God will win that battle. When the pressures of life, heavy decisions, or when trial arise, keep your eyes on Jesus. So, the first step to have a clear view of Jesus is to prioritize him in your list of goals and focus on obedience to his teachings.
Seeing God through searching.
Second, Looking for God in daily living: don’t look for the big miracles look for little ones – that will get you more focused. But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut. 4: 29). A renowned bible preacher once remarked: I developed a habit years ago that has helped me do this. Before I go to sleep, I try to recall the events of my day. What I am really doing is looking for evidence of God in my day. How did he guide me in this decision? Answer this question. How did he protect me in this situation? How did he help my relationships that day? Once we do that, we can see the sketches of God’s hand all over our life and we learn to appreciate him more. The more we do that, the more clearly his face will be seen. . Even so, spending time in the word of God and in prayer with him cannot be substituted. No matter what, those of us who trust in the Lord, and wait upon him will always receive a revelation of him that is beyond imagination, Isa. 64:4.