How Can I Encounter God?

HOW CAN I ENCOUNTER GOD?

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández

First, I start believing God, that is, I believe in His Word stated in the Bible. I start believing He loves me truly, that He has given His only Son to die for my sins (John 3:16) and that He yearns to establish a love relationship with me through Jesus Christ, who is exactly like God, who cannot be seen. Jesus is the first-born Son, superior to all creation (Colossians 1:15). Our relationship with God had been broken down at the Eden garden due to sheer disobedience on the part of the human being himself (Genesis 3:23-24 – Romans 5:12-15).

In other words, I start developing faith. God moves according to the faith of every person. God does not move in front of poverty or misery. He only moves in answer to the active faith of every person who has knowledge, understanding and revelation of His Word.

Faith cannot be analysed. We should not mistake faith for presumption. There are people who think that trust, reliance, credulity, a bit of religión and hope, constitute faith. This mixture is presumption rather than faith. Faith is much more than believing, much more than trusting, much more than expecting. If it is a pure faith coming from the Holy Spirit, it will never act against God´s Word.

Therefore, where does faith come from? Faith is a gift given by God and it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)If faith lacks power, it is not faith: It is just reliance. Faith is the one that has action and power and it always comes from God. Grace and faith are closely related to each other. Faith is not a product of own merit because no human being deserves salvation that is given to us through the grace of God. The Grace of God is a benefit granted to us which is absolutely not deserved by us at all.

We can appreciate the following biblical verses:

“All of us have sinned and fallen short of God´s glory. But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins. (Romans 3:23-24)

Faith is a gift. You do not need to pray asking for faith. Look for God and faith will come to you. Prayers never get something from God unless faith is present therein.

We can conclude with the following biblical verses:

“Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1)
“But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for Him”. (Hebrews 11:6)

Therefore, if we open our hearts to God sincerely and if we have an active and genuine faith, the grace and glory of God will be spread in abundance towards us and God will penetrate our hearts which may be hurt, anguished or sad. If we allow God to enter our hearts, He will clean, purify and restore us bit by bit and completely through His Holy Spirit. Sometimes, we will need help coming from Christians that are matured in their faith, who act as temporary helpers of the Holy Spirit. Then, the love relationship and the communion with our Father will be possible!!!

AMEN!!!