Episode #367 Slowing Down to See God – Real Peace, Secure Faith

Hey, friend. Today we're talking about noticing God. And the ever present invitation that he extends to us to be aware of him, to go throughout small moments in our day, everyday circumstances with an awareness of his presence there with us.

I've been thinking about this in the lens of spiritual formation and how oftentimes spiritual growth can feel slow. We can feel like we're behind and we can overlook areas of growth and transformation that have already accomplished, because it's so easy to focus on what's next, what's next for me to do? What refinement, what purifying does God want to do in me now? Where am I still struggling?

But God is not in a rush. When he invites us to go through daily life with him, he's like, “Hey, step by step. Come see me. Come notice me. Come go through daily life with me.”

We talked in the very last episode about how our transformation is not accomplished by human willpower alone. And I wanna continue that theme here from the lens of noticing God. In 2 Corinthians 3:18 it says,

"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

This affirms to us this awareness that God is the One who does the transforming work in us. But for our focus today in this episode, I wanna really sit with this word “beholding”. Now, I normally think of this word and hear it used when it comes to Christmas carols, right? “Oh, come let us behold him.” Come let us turn our attention and our affection and our awareness to him. Let us look upon him. There's a looking that we see in this passage, the veil between the people, the common population of the Israelites and God's presence in the Holy of Holy places. That veil was torn away when Christ died on the Cross, and we get to be those who get to know God in increasing measure.

Someday we will know him fully, even as we are fully known. But right now it's bit by bit and every day, every moment, every circumstance. Yes, even the hard ones, we can look to him and behold him with greater clarity, with greater awareness. Receiving more of his affection toward us. And that's the whole focus of this episode today, that we would notice God in a greater way. And yes, there's things that God gives us to work on and do with him and participate in with him. But it takes that pressure off if we focus just for these few minutes on how we can behold him.

Maybe he'll draw you to an awareness of something you've read in the Word before, that you can notice him more closely in it or notice something unique that you hadn't seen.

Maybe he'll draw you to read his Word, to see how he's on display in Scripture.

Maybe he'll bring an awareness to your mind and your heart, of how he's with you in a present circumstance that you're walking through. Of how he's answered a prayer or of how you can see him in the nature around you if you step outside or look out your window.

There's so many ways we can put pressure on ourselves to perform for God. Let all of that just fall to the wayside. How can you behold him? Because as we see in Scripture, beholding him is transformative. Both the beholding, the ability to notice him, and the transformation that he does in us, come from the Lord. And so we can do our part in taking a minute to notice him and to see what about himself he'd like to share with us.

And so the question I invite you to take to God today is:

God, how can I behold you right now? How can I look upon you in a fresh way?

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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