God Awareness Part 2 – My Story

Scripture: Romans 1:19-20; Psalm 19:12-14; Isaiah 50:4-5 19 But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! 20 By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. (Romans 1:19-20 MSG) God Encounters are really great! But God Encounters are at God’s initiative, as they should be. The God Awareness we thought about with David of Bethlehem yesterday, is available to us all, and it’s available at our initiative! We, like David, can cultivate an awareness of God’s nature, God’s goodness, God’s presence with us always, in all situations, at all times. God Awareness makes all the difference! I have intentionally cultivated God Awareness for a long time. In 1980, Jean and I started reading the Bible through each year and we’ve continued that practice for almost forty years. We’ve used different translations through the years to keep from making getting in a “we’ve heard all that before” rut. Part of my God Awareness is an intentionally cultivated on-going dialogue in my head so that I’m talking out the things I’m thinking with God and asking questions (so many questions!) about the things I’m trying to understand. God doesn’t answer all my questions on the spot. I don’t “hear voices” telling me what to do or to think. But it’s a God Awareness conversation. I don’t have background music playing all the time. I don’t put my earphones on when I go for a walk in the desert with Jake. When I am awake at night, I use the time to think and pray. I limit my screen time on my phone. I can only take so much TV and movies, although I enjoy both, and I love music. If I keep my brain busy with constant entertainment input, I’ll miss out on the God Awareness that it’s taken most of a lifetime to cultivate. If you want to develop God Awareness, you’ll have to be intentional about it. You don’t have to do what I’ve done, but you’ll have to do something! Think about what hinders you from being God Aware and make some changes. Eliminate what hinders and incorporate what helps. Prayer:

Father, We’re thankful you want to be known by us and you’ve made ways for us to know you and be aware of your presence with us always. Keep us God Aware! Amen!