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My Personal Experience with God: a Reflection
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Published: Aug 4, 2023
Words: 512 | Page: 1 | 3 min read
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Introduction, finding meaning in god, reflecting on my experience with god, works cited.
- The Bible. New International Version. Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com.
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The Wateringwell
A refreshing place for Christian women to meet
Encountering God in Everyday Life
Table of Contents
Do you believe that encountering God is only for the super-spiritual? For those who are perfect and have a unique, unachievable relationship with God? Well, I believe it is possible for everybody to have encounters with God and that God wants to have personal encounters with every one of us. Encounters are for everyday people like you and me because God uses these times to break through into our lives. To have a personal encounter with God is life-changing.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and purchase a product or service, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This commission helps support the running of this site. However, I only recommend products that I know and trust.
A biblical perspective of encountering God
An encounter with God is not spooky, super spiritual, or made up by fanatics. People often fear the unknown and therefore avoid these encounters. I know I did. Friends if that is you, you will miss out on something special. An encounter with God should not be feared or shied away from.
Knowledge drives out fear. Seek to be informed, and let’s hear what the Bible says.
There are numerous records of God’s encounters with His people in the Old and New Testaments. These events happened in Biblical times so it is often assumed that they don’t happen anymore. But this is our assumption. God still desires to bless and communicate with His people today.
What does the Bible say about us today? Jesus tells His disciples that He will leave them and return to heaven but that the Holy Spirit will come in His place. Knowing and understanding the Holy Spirit is key to understanding an encounter with God. It is through the Holy Spirit, meant for all who believe in Jesus, that we can encounter God in our lives today.
The Book of Acts explains this in verses 1-5
Encountering God for the first time
Saul (later Paul), didn’t know the Lord and in fact, was a persecutor of believers before his conversion. His miraculous encounter can be read about in Acts 9. God had a plan for Paul, but He knew it would take a radical event to break through into his life. Our Father God will do whatever it takes to break through into your life too.
There are countless testimonies of people who came to know Jesus through a similar supernatural experience. Your experience may have been more gentle, a knowing, and quiet submission. That’s ok. God meets us in different ways. It also doesn’t mean you will not encounter a life-changing breakthrough at a later stage. God does what is needed when it is needed.
My first personal encounter
I grew up in a traditional church and went through all the motions and rituals as a child. I was involved from an early age in various aspects of church life, but I had never really encountered God. At school I was surrounded by friends who were ‘saved’ but I still didn’t grasp what it meant. To me, God was somebody who sat up in heaven and looked down over us. He was always there, I just didn’t know Him because I didn’t recognize Him.
When I decided to surrender my life to the Lord because I wanted the “more” that I had read and heard about, it was a choice I made following a quiet conviction. There was no falling off of donkeys or similar mind-blowing experiences. It was only years later that I had my first supernatural encounter with God.
What is a personal God encounter?
The definition of an encounter is “an unexpected meeting”. We talk to God, pray, read our Bibles, and interact with Him daily, but an encounter is something different.
6 Characteristics of a Godly Encounter
- It happens when we least expect it – a sure sign that it is God.
- The encounter is different for each of us because God knows our needs. It is a deeply personal experience, relevant to you in your situation, at that time. How special is that? Friend, you matter to our Father. I love to hear how God has worked in other people’s lives. Our God encounters become an integral part of our testimonies.
- It is a life-changing experience.
- Its purpose is to reveal God’s glory.
- Encounters are timely, specific, and purposeful.
- It leaves you breathless, speechless, and immobile for a while as you process it. (Or in Paul’s case, sightless)
When you experience such an encounter, what makes it so wonderful, is the realization that God sees you. He knows you, your name, and the intimate details of your circumstances. How incredible is that?
Where might we encounter God?
God wants to show us His glory. Don’t fear or avoid it … seek it. Position yourself. If you expect it you will be better prepared to recognise it. Although having said that, when God breaks through into our lives … you know it!!
We all dream but sometimes you have a dream that is so impactful you can’t get it out of your mind. It is generally something out of the ordinary and with it comes a message, word of wisdom, or knowledge. The dream will stay with you for a while afterward. If that happens, ask God to reveal His message and sit in quiet meditation as you wait on Him. He will grant you revelation as you come before Him in obedience.
Through other people
God may speak to you through another person. It is important to surround yourself with wise and Godly people who you can trust. Don’t listen to everything people tell you, but instead question it. Does it align with the word of God? Make a note of it. As a new Christian, it is better to seek wise counsel from others, especially if it requires important changes in your life. Share what you believe you heard and ask them to pray into it with you.
Answer to prayer
It is important to keep a prayer journal and a record of all your prayer requests. God often answers and speaks to us during our quiet times which you can read more about in Conversations with God . Answered prayer builds our faith and by keeping a record we can refer back to previous requests and conversations.
Reading the word of God is crucial to recognizing His voice. An encounter will always align with the word of God. We often read scriptures in the Bible that are relevant to us at that specific point in time. Or a verse is an answer to a prayer for advice and guidance. This is how God speaks to us. The Bible sharpens our discernment and confirms our God encounters.
God often speaks to us in church, either through a word from the preacher, or through others in the church community. Some people may think that church is a religious act and not necessary. But a community offers so much more and I find that God often uses communities to move, support us, spread His word, and build us up in faith … among many other things.
Belonging to a community of believers positions us to see, hear, and experience the move of God.
Encountering God can happen anywhere
God is not bound by time and place. While we often see moves of the Holy Spirit in church, it can happen anywhere. Be alert. Be constantly in union with the Lord and always be ready to hear His voice. You will learn to recognize it better over time.
How does the Holy Spirit minister to us
‘Radical’ God encounters will stand out in our memories and form part of our testimonies, but the Holy Spirit ministers to us regularly in more subtle ways too.
- Gives us strength when facing a difficult situation ~ Philippians 4:13
- Comforts us ~2 Corinthians 7:6
- Brings peace ~Romans 8:6
- Guides us in truth ~John 16:12
- Brings glory to the Father by making known to us what is from the Father and what is not ~John 16:14
How encountering God impacts our lives
Encountering God leaves a lifelong memory. It is an experience that enriches, lifts you, and builds your faith. You need only the faith of a mustard seed to begin with. Although God can move anytime, it is often when we are in the depths of despair and our situation seems hopeless. Friends, humble yourselves, pray, and seek Him above all else at these times. He will not disappoint you. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
We seek the Lord by living righteous lives and exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These things please the Holy Spirit. Get rid of anger, bitterness, rage, slander, and malice which offends Him.
I was blown away the first time I encountered God. Since then I have had numerous experiences, each one still etched in my mind. They are the beacons that guide and encourage me to this day and will continue to do so in the days to come. I pray that you too will experience many encounters with God.
I hope that these words explain enough to encourage you to seek the Lord on a deeper more personal level. Be ready to experience God, His grace, love, and mercy. Open your hearts and minds and be intentional in seeking Him. Life is hard but God is willing and ready to reveal Himself to you in the most glorious ways.
To read more about one of my God encounters, follow the link to the blog post titled “ The Unconditional Love of God “.
Read the book of Acts to learn more about the purpose of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Look up the Holy Spirit in the concordance of your Bible to find more scriptures in other parts of the Bible.
Prayer Corner
30 December 2022 at 02:58
I have searched for more about what I experienced just last week. Your bullet points were spot on. I did not want to share this with anyone except my wife. But now I am not so sure. My encounter changed the way i looked at people and surroundings. I am still processing my encounter. I will say God DID meet my need at THAT moment of DEEP NEED.
18 January 2023 at 15:50
Thank you for your message. Testimony is powerful and you never know when sharing yours is just what another person needs. Could you maybe share it with one or two close and trusted people?
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Why your personal relationship with God matters more than any relationship you have
There will never be a relationship in your life that's more important than the one you have with God in Christ. You could say that you're a friend of the president or prime minister of your country, or perhaps even the heads of all states, yet, nothing compares to being the friend of the Creator of the universe.
Your relationship with God is more important than any other relationship that you'll ever have in your entire life. Here are some reasons why:
1. Your relationship with God determines where you will spend the whole of eternity
Having a relationship with God, or not having it, clearly says where your will spend all of eternity after death. This relationship can only begin by repenting of your sin and turning to Christ for salvation. It simply follows that having a real, genuine relationship with God means that you have done that and are saved (see John 3).
2. Your relationship with God powers you up for daily living
Your friendships and other relationships will drain you, but your relationship with God will power you up so that you can live a full life daily. When you give more importance to other relationships, you give away all that you have, including your time, attention, energy, and resources. When you prioritise your relationship with God, you receive more than you can ever give to Him.
The effects of relationships are even more visible when one is in the wrong relationships: "Bad company corrupts good morals" (see 1 Corinthians 15:33).
Having good friends influence you towards the good. Having bad friends influence you towards the bad. Having godly friends influence you to be godly, but having God as your Father, your friend and your everything transforms you into Christ's likeness.
3. Your relationship with God will last for all of eternity
Everything we have in this earth will fade away, be it riches, friendships, connections with big people, and even ourselves. Yet, one thing that will not fade away is God Himself (see Matthew 24:35).
Because of this, we should choose to invest ourselves in Him. Christ said, "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be" (see Matthew 6:21). If we invest ourselves in worldly relationships, we will only reap worldly benefits. If we invest in God who is in and for all eternity, we will reap eternal harvests.
Choose to prioritise the real deal
Friend, choose to prioritise your relationship with God more than any other relationship you have or you'll ever have. He is worth all the pursuit. In fact, He's the one pursuing us (see Hebrews 12:2; Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 5:8).
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What Is God: My Personal Faith Reflection
- Category: Religion , Life
- Topic: God , Self Reflection
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