Do you ever wonder how you can know God more personally?

Do you ever wish God would make a "personal appearance" in your life, showing up just when you need Him with a sign that speaks to your specific need?

Well, I have great news today!

That's exactly what God wants too.

He wants you to know Him more personally.

He wants to show up in your life.

John 14:21 says,

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.

The one who loves me will be loved by my Father,

and I too will love them and show myself to them.

Last night on Facebook, a colleague of mine posted a personal experience she had with God.

She wrote about how she has been feeling down because of everything in the world that seems to be out of control and bad,

and how she was struggling to trust mankind.

Then she shared about something that happened with a stray dog and how God used this dog to demonstrate "trust."

As I read her words, I knew that she had experienced God in a very personal way that spoke to her very specific need.

She needed to know what trust looked like, up close and personal.

In her desperate cry for help,

God showed up through a stray dog of all things.

And because she was listening and open to more than just an earthly experience, this interaction with an animal taught her a lesson that deepened her faith and changed her entire outlook on life.

Not only that, because she shared her testimony publicly many others were blessed last night.

That's how God wants to work.

He wants to meet you right where you are with a message you need to hear.

And then He longs to use your encounter with Him to change everyone around you.

Another friend of mine found out she will have a new student joining her class today with only 20 days left in the school year.

I can't wait to see what God is up to with this new student!

because I believe that nothing happens accidentally in this world as God brings good from every situation and longs to use ALL THINGS to draw us closer to Him.

God has a purpose in the arrival of this new little child.

When you take time to sit back and soak in just how personally the Lord of all Creation longs to share life with you and when you BELIEVE with all your heart that He is passionately interested in you,

EVERYTHING CHANGES!

EVERYTHING!!!

The traffic jam on the interstate

The rude sales clerk

The unmerciful teacher

The stray dog

The conversation over the fence with a neighbor

The hurtful friend

The unfaithful spouse

The financial trouble

The time in the bleachers with other kids' parents

The complicated situation with family or friends

The neglectful parent

A new job

A lost job

The tiring student

Stress at work

The consequences of our sin

Tragedy

Victory

Illness

Restored health

Grief

I could keep listing things all day long that I have experienced personally or that friends are experiencing right this minute....

They all have one thing in common.

God longs to meet each of us in all of these moments.

He longs to be our Comforter, Avenger, Guide, Helper, Advocate, Defender, Hiding place, Savior, Supporter, Hope, Leader, Light, Redeemer, Salvation, Stronghold, King of Kings, and so much more.

Are you longing to now God more?

He's ready to show Himself to you today.

No matter where you are or what you're facing,

ask God to show up in exactly the way you need Him.

And then "wait expectantly!!!"

Psalm 5:2-3

Hear my cry for help,

In the morning, Lord, you hear my

voice;

I can't imagine walking through this world without believing that there is more to this world than our eyes can see.

I want you to believe that too.

Believing this changes everything

about life!!!!!!!!!