If the shoe fits...

I love stories about how people encounter God. I remember listening to Winky Pratney once as he told us a time in his life where he was so desperate for God to meet him. He wanted a personal revival and so he told the story of how he locked himself in his room, drew a circle around his body and cried out to God to meet him right there.

"I'm not going to move out of this circle until you meet me God!" And so there He stayed and sure enough God turned up and turned his life upside down.

After hearing such an amazing testimony, I thought to myself, "I want a personal revival too!" So off I went, locked myself in my bedroom, drew an imaginery cirlce around my body and waited.

And waited....

And waited...

And waited...

Nothing.

What was I forgetting here? I did the cirlce thing. I told God I wasn't going to move out of the circle until He met me there. Maybe I need to get down on my knees and be a bit more humble. So down I went, and I waited.

And waited...

And waited...

Still nothing! I must admit that I was a little discouraged in that moment. Howcome it worked for Winkey Pratney and not for me? I followed the 'formula' just as he explained. But that was the problem.

Sometimes when God moves in a certain way and peoples lives are transformed, we try to contain the move and put it into a formula. As if we can contain God with a set of rules! For the children of Israel they worshipped the 'form' of something and did so by making idols. For us in the modern day we make 'formulas' (an exerpt from Bill Johnson, Minfest Presence Conference 08).

It's not always the case, but in my case I had thought that if I did exactly what this preacher had done, I would encounter God.

"So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them.

And David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them." So David took them off. ~1 Sam 17:38,39

David was used to defeating the enemy with a sling and a few stones, not a heavy armour. This was not David's style. If he had walked out onto the battle field wearing what worked for King Saul, David may have lost his life that day.

Why? Because the sling and the stones brought glory to God. He had used these to kill bears and lions out in the field where he knew God. He had tested this in his life and this was what God had given him to carry and to 'wear.'

How often do we compare ourselves and the way we meet God with others?

I know a lady who worships God to Shania Twain music (shudder...). But she says that she sings these loves songs to God and has an amazing time!

I know a pastor who climbs up a hill and lies in the grass, and that's where he hears God (a helicopter nearly landed on him once, but that hasn't stopped him from going there!)

I know someone who can sit in silence for what seems like an eternity and that's how she meets and hears the voice of God (I tried that once and fell asleep).

My point is, is that we can't reduce God and confine Him to the experience of other people. We each meet God in different ways and that's how God would have it! We are all so different, so strange and so unique, of course there are going to be some differences in how we hear God and how we encounter Him.

Your life stems from those precious times where it's just you and Him. Whether it's a walk on the beach, a worship time with a cd, being immersed in the Word, or on your face in prayer, as long as you're with Him...

MEET HIM THERE.