Have you wondered if God is really real? Or asked yourself, “Where is God?” Even though we have faith, these poignant questions can still come when we face personal tragedy or witness outright injustice. For many of us, we go so fast through the motions of life that God seems to slip from the driver seat, to the middle seat and eventually to the rear seat. Why is it that our faith can become so brittle? One reason may be that our “God Experience” is limited in an intellectual experience.
Through the years, most of us have been taught, either intentionally or unintentionally, that our God Experience is developed by going to church, reading the Bible, and praying. These activities are necessary to grow our understanding of God, but they tend to be inward oriented – representing only one half of our God Experience. When this happens, we can’t see His miracles which make it hard to see God at work in our lives. When we don’t see Him at work, our faith may become brittle.
To combat this feeling, we must build our faith by being on the offensive – by doing good works. In other words, I believe that we will see God at work in our lives when, in faith, we do good works for others. This outward oriented posture takes the focus off of ourselves, creating opportunities for God to work through our lives. When our faith is put into action, we will see miracles happen. This is an action experience that you can “do and see”. It brings glory to God, builds our faith and creates a complete God Experience that goes beyond the intellect.
God Experience = Intellectual experience + Action experience
James said it best, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17). The Word of God gives us hundreds of instructions to defend and rescue the weak and the fatherless, to speak up for them and provide for them. When we obey these instructions and take action, we balance our God Experience equation – building a strong faith that is ready for life’s challenges.
I challenge you to balance your God Experience equation by taking action today. You can rescue a child in need by sponsoring them for $35 a month. You can mentor that child by visiting them on a mission trip. Or, you can advocate for these children that live so far away, right in your home town, by collecting supplies or encouraging others to sponsor children at work or church.
