As Christians we often go through life wondering when we will get to experience God. Or we think we aren’t a “good enough” Christian if we’ve never heard His voice. I hear all the time people saying that a Christian’s faith is strengthened through questioning if God is real. But I want to challenge that mindset. I can personally say I’ve never gone through a time where I questioned the existence of God. Yet I would consider my faith very solid. 

I believe this is because questioning isn’t the only way to solidify God’s existence and place in our lives. I have experienced God in ways that makes Him undeniable to me. I don’t know if I’ve ever audibly heard His voice, and I haven’t seen Him, but I have felt Him.  In the big moments and in the little moments, God is there. As a teen I felt God the most in the depth of depression when I would cry out to God just asking for a hug. I will never forget the feeling of God wrapping me up in His arms and giving me the hug I so desperately needed. There are no words to explain what that feels like.

‘ How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. ‘ Psalm 36:7

I have had several deep spiritual conversations lately where this subject has come up. There are so many times in my life and in others where it’s the little things that God has done that has strengthened that relationship with him. One little story is from a few weeks ago. I was in the kitchen preparing dinner and as I was about to start slicing an onion I jokingly said “pray for me, I’m going to chop an onion” So my sister stopped what she was doing and prayed. We laughed about it and went on our way. But several minutes later I realized that I had just chopped that entire onion and didn’t tear up and didn’t get a headache. Which is big for me, I always tear up and have a headache while chopping onions, usually to the point where I have to pause and walk away. God didn’t need to answer her prayer for the onion not to affect me. It wouldn’t have affected my spiritual life if that onion had made me cry. But God chose to bless me in that tiny, seemingly meaningless way. What it did was strengthen my faith, because I know for sure that God listens to us and answers even the smallest unimportant prayers.  

‘In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. ‘ Jeremiah 29:12-13

I am calling this the purple pen theory. The reason why is because I believe God chooses to bless you in the little things so that you know you can trust HIm with the big things. And when big things do happen, it will be second nature to hand it over to God. The name purple pen theory comes from my sister’s example. Imagine you’re in a circle and they are passing out pens for you to write with. You catch a glimpse of a pretty purple pen that you want to use. So you say a quick “Lord let me get the purple pen” prayer and wait your turn. Here’s where God comes into play, let’s say in this example God lets you have the purple pen. Had you not gotten the purple pen, you would have forgotten all about it and went on your merry way. But God allowed for you to get that pen in order to remind you that He loves you and He listens to even the small stuff.

Or another story comes to mind of God showing himself in the little moments. I was driving to work and the following scripture was playing; 

‘Ascribe to the Lord , O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. ‘ Psalm 29:1-2

I thought to myself how often I forget to give God the glory He deserves. How often do we worship Him even in the little moments? What I did not know was that God was preparing me for a very stressful day. Most likely at the very moment that I was worshiping Him, I ran over a little metal tube that embedded itself in my tire causing it to go flat within minutes. Then as I got to work I was informed that all of our computers were down and we had no access to patient files or schedules. As the day went on, we lost the internet too, meaning we couldn’t take payments either. But do you know what I learned? If you ascribe God the glory due to His name and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness, He will be there with you. 

So where am I going with this? Basically what I am saying is if you want to experience God, instead of waiting around for Him to come to you, just ask. That’s all it takes. You just have to ask Him to make His presence known. There are times when I feel so disconnected from God and all I have to do is get into an attitude of worship and ask for me to experience Him. 

Just the other day I was driving home and I had been feeling a bit of a dry spell in my relationship with God, like I was just going through the motions. So I turned on worship music and prayed for God to allow me to experience Him. Within seconds I felt the literal presence of God in that car with me. I broke down in tears because He answered my prayer. He was there and I just had to make myself available.

This is the reason I say it does not matter the journey you have gone through to get to the place you are at now. It does not matter how “spiritual” you think you are or are not. What matters is making yourself ready and available for God to touch you. The Lord does not only communicate through His voice. He has many ways He can choose to touch us. 

I encourage you to take a moment and look up these scriptures and reflect on the ways you have felt God in your life. Has He been there for the ups or just the downs? Have you let Him in on the little moments when it feels insignificant? 

‘Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. ‘ Isaiah 41:10

‘This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” ‘ Joshua 1:9

The moments in the mundane where God shows up build your faith for the moments in the excitement or catastrophe. The more you create the habit of letting God in, the more you will notice HIm. building moments with God can become a habit just like any other, and if at first you need to treat it like a habit then do it! 

There are cues I use in my life to build the habit of giving God time. What I mean by build the habit is, set up things you do in your everyday life as reminders to give God time. Some of the things I use are the time I use to get ready for work in the morning, I turn on the bible to read aloud to me. Another cue I use is when I’m driving I will either listen to worship music or pray. Another is while I shower I turn on worship music. I embed God into my day. You don’t need to take extra time to set apart and that is the only time you and God get. Take God with you throughout your day. As you do your life, let God be a part of it. Invite Him to join you. I think you will notice that your attitude changes, and you find God is closer than ever before.

‘ The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. ‘ Zephaniah 3:17