Experiencing God

I love Tuesday mornings.  I always feel really rushed until I whirl out of the house around 9am and drive to our church.  Since our move to Austin, we've been attending Bannockburn Baptist Church.  We have really grown to love it.  On Tuesday mornings, I go to the ladies Bible study there.  I get to leave my daughter with some gals who absolutely love her, and for just a few brief hours, I have the opportunity to study and share with some pretty fantastic ladies.  Last semester, we did a Beth Moore study.  I loved it.  This semester we are doing Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby.  First impressions: not so great.  Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad study, it's just pretty basic.  With a Bachelor's and Master's degree from a Bible College, I have trouble with "basic."  Since Dr. Nelson (my Greek prof) isn't teaching this class, I often find myself looking for little nuggets, hidden gems of wisdom within the text that I can use practically in my life.  Yes, I have found some.  I thought I'd share with you all what God's been teaching me through this study.

1.  "People who struggle to spend time with God don't have a scheduling problem; they have a love problem."  Wow...convicting.  Let me just be totally honest; yes, I do struggle to have a consistent time with God.  What I never realized before was that my problem wasn't scheduling, it was love.  How often do I fail to make time with my husband, daughter, best friend??  Pretty much never.  So why would God be any different?  Good question.  It's one that I find I'm asking myself as I probe my heart and examine my relationship with God.  Do I really love God, or do I just pay him lip service?  "The more you know Him and experience His unfathomable love, the more you will love Him.  You will want time alone with God because you love Him and enjoy His fellowship."

2.  "When God gives a command, He is not restricting you, He is freeing you."  If only I had learned this lesson when I was 18, I really could have avoided a lot of heartache.  I was such a rebellious young woman.  It wasn't my Bible College's fault either; their rules only brought it out in me.  I had a heart problem from day one.  And God broke me.  He broke my spirit and He broke my heart, and I've never been more thankful for anything in my life.  God's "rules" for my life weren't put there to make life boring, but to protect me from danger.  God's commandments are positive, not prohibitive.  Similarly, Blackaby also says, "Obedience is the outward expression of your love for God.  If you have an obedience problem, you have a love problem."  Yikes!  I'm really getting clobbered with conviction here.  I'm thankful that God is so patient and loving and that He gently waits for me to come around to obedience.  I'm thankful He didn't give up on me in my rebellious years when I was running from him at full speed.  What a great reminder of the grace and mercy I've been given.

3.  There are some things only God can do.  "He is at work when you see someone coming to Christ, asking about spiritual matters, beginning to understand spiritual truth, experiencing conviction of sin, being convinced of Christ's righteousness, or being convinced of judgment."  Praise the Lord; I'm not God.  This might sound like a "duh" kind of statement, but I really think I try to take on too much responsibility.  For example, if I invite my neighbor to church and my neighbor shows no interest whatsoever, why should I be discouraged?  God is the one who draws people to Himself.  All He asks me to do is be faithful to obey Him.  When I'm faithful, He's pleased with me, regardless of what someone else decides.  This is a good reminder for me.

I'm so thankful for Tuesday's.  Bible study has been a great thing in my life.  Since moving to Austin, it's really been a refreshing time of encouragement and inspiration.  It's also helping me to become more disciplined in my spiritual walk as I'm studying more consistently and memorizing scripture.  I'm thankful for "basic" this semester.  "Basic" is touching my heart and teaching me new things about myself and my God.