Connecting with God: Unique to Each Believer

For years after I became a Christian, I thought there was something wrong with me. I went to a church that had frequent revival and prayer meetings. There was always a build up to these special events about how "God was really going to show up" and afterwards people would talk about how they "felt the presence of the Lord." Each time I would be hopeful that I too would feel a shift in my spirit and each time I left the service feeling incredibly blah. Eventually, I stopped going. I couldn't handle the disappointment and feeling like I just wasn't tracking with the rest of the congregation. 

Over the years, I have come to realize some things about myself that affect how I connect with God. First, I am not a group person. I'm an introvert. The jobs that I have thrived at like being a writer are jobs where I work with other people (editors and other writers) but largely am by myself. Second, I really have a negative response when people "hard" sell things to me. It makes me not want to do or buy whatever they are trying to promote to me. If a book is on the NY Times bestseller list and everyone is talking about how great it is, it makes me not want to buy it. I'm afraid the build up would just lead to disappointment. Saying that God is "really going to show up" at a church service is what I would call a hard sell. Also, I think it's really manipulative and discounts the nature of God. God shows up when he wants to or needs to, not because we sing really loud and dance around. 

I know there are people who have had life changing experiences at these services and I don't want to discount that. All I am saying, is that has never been the case for me. I did figure out how I connect with God in a meaningful way. First of all, being out in nature can leave me awestruck. Watching a gaggle of geese land on a pond is like hearing a worship song. To me, there is nothing that stills my heart more and lets me hear God clearly than to sit by a river. Also, there are times when I am reading a novel and something a character says or the way characters interact will illuminate a spiritual truth for me. Obviously, reading my Bible and singing back verses to God makes me feel close to him. I think that last one might be true for most Christians. 

So how do you connect with God? For some people it might be in helping others. It doesn't have to happen in a church service. Or it might be that you have been to a church service that was life altering. I would love to hear about it. Leave a comment and your email and I will choose a winner to receive one of my Love Inspired Suspense books of their choice.