Setting the Stage

What do you need in order to enjoy God? What is it that you cannot do without when it comes to spending time in God’s presence?

Let me give you an example from the secular realm. People will say that they need weed to enjoy a conversation, need a Big screen TV with a killer sound system to enjoy sports and movies, or need certain kinds of toys to enjoy life.

These sorts of things that entice us turn into crutches that may in fact just take away from the simpler pleasure that exists. And perhaps this cultural phenomenon of incorporating all the extras to really enjoy something is making its way into our spiritual lives. So I repeat, “What do you need in order to enjoy God?”

I think of many things for myself. I need music many times. And not just any kind of music. I need:
well played music
in a style that I like most
with words that mean something.

I need revelation. To read the Bible just for the pleasure of encountering God is lost on me. I need something from it. Something insightful (perhaps to post on a blog). Something life changing. Something clever.

I need retreat. I have to get away to find God as if he cannot be found in all the noise of the world. It is too easy an excuse.

The more concentrate on “setting the stage” to encounter God, the more we are likely to miss him or become dependant on that singular experience. And in the end, God is replaced by our needs.

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
Psalm 46:10-11