How do I find God?

Long ago, God spoke in many different ways to our fathers through the prophets, in visions, dreams, and even face to face, telling them little by little about his plans. But now, in these days, he has spoken to us through his Son to whom he has given everything and through whom he made the world and everything there is. God's Son shines out with God's glory, and all that God's Son is and does marks him as God. He regulates the universe by the mighty power of his command. He is the One who died to cleanse us and clear our record of all sin and then sat down in highest honor beside the great God of heaven. Thus he became far greater than the angels, as proved by the fact that his name "Son of God," which was passed on to him from his Father, is far greater than the names and titles of the angels. - Hebrews 1:1-4 (Living Bible)

Is it possible that your great need is not for more understanding of the problems of life but rather for richer and more powerful wisdom about what it means to know God?

Could there be a dimension to knowing Christ that effectively addresses all the root causes beneath the problems with which you struggle?

The following excerpts are from the book Finding God by Dr. Larry Crabb.

God knows everything about you. He is thoroughly aware of all the personal struggles that threaten to undo you. He knows your history and your present life, all of it. And all he says to you is, "Christ." In previous days, God distributed bits and pieces of information, and he gave it to us in a variety of ways. But now, he tells us that everything he made known earlier is more fully revealed in Christ. This is his final speech: "Christ!" There is no more to say.

It's like this: when I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I became a man, my thoughts grew far beyond those of my childhood, and now I have put away the childish things. In the same way, we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if we were peering at his reflection in a poor mirror; but someday we are going to see him in his completeness, face-to-face. Now, all that I know is hazy and blurred, but then I will see everything clearly, just as clearly as God sees into my heart right now. There are three things that remain—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. - 1 Corinthians 13:11-13 (Living Bible)

To believe Christ (faith), to wait for Christ (hope), and to serve Christ (love): that is what it means to find God.

But to the degree you haven't found him, your passions are out of control. Trust is out. You want to explain and control; therefore, you reduce mystery to manageable categories and attempt to run your life without depending on Christ. Let your passion to explain become a passion for knowing Christ.

You like to be correct. You call it earnestly contending for the faith, and you persuade yourself that you are God's ally in defending the truth. But your angry spirit of smugness and condescension gives you away. Compassion and humility yield to arrogance. Let your passion to be correct become a passion for honoring Christ.

You long to heal, to relieve pain. But when that becomes a higher priority than worship, you create a god who suits your humane purpose, and you devote your life to helping people feel better about themselves. You end up using a false god rather than worshiping the true One. Let your passion for healing become a passion for giving hope.

You long to connect with the supernatural. You embrace mystery, fall prostrate before God in humility, and yield yourself to no higher purpose than experiencing him. But your focus is on experience. You demand it. So you come up with methods to get it. Eventually, you become more caught up with your theology of finding God and the evidence that you have done so than with God himself. Let the passion for connecting become a passion for trusting a sovereign Christ who will do exactly what needs to be done for you. He will reveal the Father in his time and in his way in response to your work of faith, the patience of hope, and the labor of love.

Open my eyes that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready, my God Thy, will to see.
Open my eyes. Illumine me, Spirit divine! - Clara Scott

Be Encouraged to believe Christ (faith), to wait for Christ (hope), and to serve Christ (love).

-Jeffrey Thornton