One of the psalmists said in Psalm 42:1-2, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Here, God’s servant was in a deep longing for the living God, and the need was felt in his soul. A thirst that made him ask: When can I go and meet with God? The house of the Lord is the place where we can go to meet with God. However, it is the place where we often miss God because we cannot seem to locate Him in His house. The reason is that God often presents Himself in ways that we do not expect.
When the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is honored, and God’s presence is in a church, we should expect to hear, see, and feel Him because the Bible says in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
So then, whom should we seek when we are in church?
The psalmist David said in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple.” The answer is quite simple that we should be looking for the LORD because that’s the reason why we came. On the other hand, many of us don’t always look for Him because we don’t believe that we can actually meet with Him there since we can’t see Him, let alone hear Him. Yet, we know that God’s Word is true, and He cannot lie about being among His people. It is important to remember that God wants to talk to us more than we want to talk to Him because He first loved us, and He loved and saved us when we were yet sinners.
How do you look for God in church?
In order to look for God and find Him in church, He has to be our focus. It is easy to get distracted in church, especially in a big church. It is the place where we often like to catch up with church families about upcoming spiritual activities and the like. While there is nothing wrong with these conversations, it is important to be mindful of the main reason why we are there, and everything else outside of the church service can be done or discussed after the service. Your attentiveness is needed, especially during the sermon, because it is better to put off certain things and even good conversations than to miss God.
You see, when God says that He is a jealous God, He means it. God is checking to see how badly you want Him and how eager you are to hear from Him. When God sees that you didn’t come to church because of your friends, classmates, your loved ones, or the coworker you’ve invited but because you love Him and value His word to you more than anything else, God will never disappoint you every time you come to church.
So then, how do you hear from Him?
God can talk to you through anyone who presents himself/herself to you, just like the enemy can distract you with anyone who presents himself/herself to you. It all depends on what you are looking for. If the Word of God is what you are looking for, then when you hear the Word, your ears will lean towards it. However, if you are more inclined to listen to unnecessary words, then your ears will follow your command.
When meeting with God in church, you have to be ready and attentive to meet with Him however He decides and through whomever He wants to talk to you. Therefore, we cannot limit ourselves to a specific preacher, type of sermons, or song selection.
For instance, I remember back in 2013, I needed to make an important decision, and I needed God to confirm if what He had been placing in my heart was what He wanted me to do because I didn’t want to mess things up. As I was getting ready for church that morning and even on my way to church, I kept asking Him for confirmation, and I probably sounded like a broken record. Surprisingly, He answered me in a way that I did not expect. I received the confirmation through a sister from the church who went to the pulpit to give a word of encouragement right before she started with the announcements. There was my answer from God, and she wasn’t the one preaching that Sunday morning. She probably didn’t even know that God was using her, but I knew that the answer was from Him. He has a way of connecting to each one of us in a personal/ deep way to where you know since it’s only you and Him who know about the situation. This is something that only God can do.
Another thing I have learned about God is that if He sees that you need more confirmation, He will give it to you. At times, God would tell me to do something, and I say, “Okay God, I got it!” but God keeps sending the same message that I thought I understood until I realize that I had no idea what He meant at first. So, God knows how to get to us, and He knows what percentage of what He said we understand. This also means that if we understand at 100% but pretend that we don’t or make excuses, God knows that as well. He knows when we just don’t want to obey Him.
Therefore, once you know that you have heard from God, thank Him for the message or the confirmation, meditate on what He said to you, and search the Scripture. You can even tell Him what you think you’ve understood from what He said and ask Him for more clarification if needed. Remember, you are talking to your Heavenly Father, not a stranger. Therefore, it is okay to express yourself freely to Him.
God is always a prayer away. There are so many prayers you may think are insignificant or a nuisance to God. However, God is very concerned about them. He takes your petitions to heart, and He is working on them. He just doesn’t always tell you what He is doing behind the scenes, but you’ll be surprised by how many forgotten prayers God will answer in the time you least expect it. You just have to trust His perfect timing.
You are dearly loved!
SCRIPTURES
“So, I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11: 9
“You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
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