Episode #374 The Goal Isn’t Perfection. It’s Interaction – God Is Already Here

Hey, friend, it's Jen. And I'm so glad you're here as we draw near to God today and we grow in life with God. It's something that I'm so passionate about because I didn't know for a lot of years as a Christian that actually experiencing day-to-day life with God is what he created us for. And one of the best ways that I know to start experiencing God, and something that I enjoy doing day in, day out, is practicing noticing him. In him we live and move and have our being. He is God, high and exalted, high in a lofty place, and also with the lowly, with the humble, with the contrite. He is our refuge and our stronghold in times of trouble. And so we get to go through life noticing how he is here with us, and he's not just passively present. He's active and engaged with us.

But a common question that I get is, "Okay, when I notice God, what do I do next?" And that's what we're gonna practice in this episode today. Because the most important thing is not what you can hear from me, but is the moment and the conversation that you get to share with God.

For a lot of us, the tendency or the trap is to start trying to do everything right. I wanna do the right thing, I wanna say the right thing, I wanna show up the way that God wants me to. And as I was thinking about this episode today, I started reflecting on it almost like an early dating relationship, where you're trying to pick the right outfit, and you wanna say the right thing. And you want to let them get to know you, but not too much because they might get scared away. And you're trying to figure each other out and see if this is something worth investing in. And if you're interested in the other person, you're hoping that they're going to be interested and invested enough to keep getting to know you. And the encouragement I wanna share with you today is God is already fully invested. He is in. He is 100% in. He knows you and wants to keep knowing you. He wants to invite you into your daily life experiences as something you can share with him, that you don't have to navigate them by yourself.

And so the goal here isn't perfection. God's already all in. And so instead, your goal can be interaction.

Based on what you're noticing, talk with him about it. Share what you're going through with him. The beautiful thing you might have seen or the painful circumstance that you're navigating, bring it to the Lord. All in the same conversation.

I wanna read for us from John 15:4-5. It says, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

This is Jesus speaking, and this word "abide" is not common in our day-to-day vocabulary, at least it's not in mine. But this means to stay, to remain, to continue, not to perish, but to endure, to remain as one. To not become different or another. Stay connected. Abide in me.

God's invitation is to stay connected with him. As we go through our to-do lists and our work responsibilities and our home life, we get to stay connected to him. We get to go through those moments with our God who loves us. And so as you start noticing him or as you start looking to notice him, the response gets to be talking with him and engaging with him about what he's already showing you. And again, that doesn't have to be perfect. This isn't a performance for God. It's simply turning that moment of noticing into a short response.

I had a moment like that today. My son asked me to wash one of his favorite stuffies. This sweet little plush toy got dirty 'cause he's so well-loved. And so I'm standing at the kitchen sink scrubbing Dawn dish soap into this matted fur on this toy, and I started reflecting on how we'd prayed for these kids. My husband and I had delayed fertility issues, and so we weren't sure what our family was going to look like. And so as I'm standing there washing this toy, I start reflecting on these memories of how my kids are growing and thanking God for the gift that they are in my life and just sharing that moment with him. Noticing his kindness. Noticing with gratitude this answered prayer in a unique way that I can reflect on in that moment. That I got to notice how I'm living connected to, experiencing life with my God who loves me. And I can remain, I can continue to grow in that awareness of him.

And so here's a question that I invite you to take to God today to see what he would share with you:

God, what's something that you wanna draw my attention to? And then prompt my heart. How can I respond to you because of what I'm noticing?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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