Since I’ve written my Bible study “Encountering Jesus,” I’ve had a lot of people ask me what it really means to encounter Jesus. For many years, I had no clue. I went to church, called myself a Christian, and tried my best to live the way I thought God wanted me to. Something always felt like it was missing though. I felt empty on the inside. I struggled to live the life I knew God wanted me to live. Can you relate?? Unfortunately, as I looked to many things the world had to offer, desperately trying to fill that gaping void, I was left more empty and broken. It took coming to the end of myself to realize that I needed MORE of God, not more of this world. I finally realized that we all have a God-shaped void that only He can fill.
I had no clue how to have more of God, so I went to where I could learn more about Him – the Bible. I began to read my Bible, not like I’d read any other book, but as God’s personal love letter to me. I meditated on the words I read and I would ask God to reveal Himself to me through them. This is how I discovered Jesus – the Living Word and began to have tangible experiences with God. In a season of great difficulty, desperate to be delivered from my brokenness, I would come home from work each day, put the worship music on, open my Bible and JUST SIT in God’s Presence. I didn’t know what to expect each time I did that, but I was expectant because I had read the verse “Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).” I had read in Jeremiah that if we seek Him, we’ll find Him if we seek him with our whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13). I did find Him, and grew to know Him in those months in a way I never had before. As I chose to shut out the world and just press into Him, He revealed Himself to me. He became my Father, my Healer, the Lover of my Soul. He mended the brokenness in my heart and gave me a peace and joy I had never felt. I heard His whispers of love to me, that gave me the strength to not only face life, but live life to the fullest in Him. That season in my life changed me, and it made me want more and more. These encounters with Jesus are what continually drive me back into His Presence each and every single day. I need… I want … I crave… a fresh touch from Him every single day. He’s my life lifeline, my everything just as He wants to be for each one of us.
God wants to reveal Himself to YOU, His beloved Child. The very purpose He created you was to commune with Him – to have an intimate relationship with you. He sent Jesus, so you would have access to Him 24/7 and He gave you the Holy Spirit so you could have tangible experiences with Him. The moments you seek out to spend with Him are just as precious to Him as they are to you – and they’ll forever change your life. I recorded this short video below on what encounters with Jesus are for my Facebook Group and thought I’d share it here. I pray that you all have new and exciting encounters with Jesus this week!
