I walked down the road for the sheer joy of stepping into the ivory firmament and breathing deeply today.  Maybe I needed a fresh lesson on how to find God in a barren season.

I was still within eye-shot of the house when I saw it.  Surrounded by sleepy beige earth, a single sprig of yellow-crowned goldenrod danced in the afternoon breeze.

Bending low, I stopped to admire the tiny ray of hope in the middle of the desolate, almost-winter world.

There is always beauty woven into barrenness.

 

How to Find God in Your Life

Even in the middle of a thousand shades of brown and grey, God weaves beauty.  He threads it through tiring days spent laboring through the monotony of everyday life.  And he threads it through the long, dark seasons when we pray for time to go faster.

You have your own struggles.  I don’t have to name them because you know them well.  Maybe you want to find God in the middle of a hard season, but you’re not sure where to begin.  Or maybe you just want to connect with his heart in new ways and deepen your relationship with him.

Either way, let’s take a look at how to find God and connect with him in ways that transform our lives:

 

1. If you want to know how to find God, count his gifts.

Something about that tiny goldenrod plant on a grey day felt like an encounter with God.  When we pause to notice God’s good gifts around us, we open our hearts to experience him.

God is always at work around us, and every good gift in your life comes from the hand of God.

Do you really want to learn how to find God?

Start counting his gifts.

Make a list, snap a photo, or just start looking.  The shift into a posture of gratitude prepares your heart for a life-changing encounter with the Living God.  Gratitude aligns our hearts with the Father’s heart.  Give thanks more often, and you will soon realize that God is all around you.

Gratitude aligns our hearts with the Father’s heart. Give thanks more often, and you will soon realize that God is all around you. He makes his presence known through the silver song of a summer moon, rain splashing white against windowpanes, and smiles from strangers.  God makes his goodness known through warm meals and cool glasses of water.  He waits for you to encounter his goodness, and he is pleased when you thank him for his gifts.

I once asked a friend how to know if something is from God.  She said, “If it’s good, it’s from God.”  James 1:17 tells us every good and perfect gift in our lives comes from the Father.  Find goodness, and you have encountered the work of his hand.

 

2. Find God by reading his Letter to you.

For years, I went to a quiet field behind my house and asked God to prove himself to me by providing some physical sign.  I asked for everything from rainbows to shooting stars.

All the while, a gentle whisper nudged my soul.  I kept thinking of the leather-bound Bible in my dresser drawer.

Finally, one sunny afternoon, I carried the old Bible to my quiet field.  I began copying verses into a spiral-bound notebook.  I let the words sink into the deepest part of me.  One day at a time, I encountered the heart of God.  I came to know him in a new and personal way.

Regardless of whether you’ve never opened a Bible or whether you’ve been reading your Bible for years, turn to God’s written Word to find him.  These words are tangible, and they are written specifically for you.

More than anywhere else, I most often encounter God in his written Word.

 

3. If you want to learn how to find God, reach out to someone who knows him well.

My relationship with God deepens when I spend time with people who know him intimately.  These people ask probing questions and challenge my faith.  Their faith is contagious.  As I spend time with people who have encountered God in deep ways, God invites me into deeper layers of faith.