For those times when you’re in the mood for a little Divine Interaction, may I suggest the following four easy things to do? They’re simple—but they work, and always have. I personally believe that God is constantly and forever waiting for everyone and anyone to simply ask how they can deepen their personal relationship with him/her/it. God has a lot of answers, but for that particular question, he/she/it really has an answer. And if you sincerely and deeply ask God what you should do in order to enrich your relationship with h/s/i, what you are certain to in one way or another very clearly hear h/s/i communicating back to you is that you would do very well indeed to begin incorporating into your daily life the following four things:
1. Listening to God
2. Reflecting upon God
3. Being humble before God
4. Trusting God
Listening to God. Listening to God doesn’t mean you have to climb to the top of a mountain and lose yourself in prayerful bliss, or kneel in place of worship for six hours straight, or anything like that. It only means that every once in a while—while you’re cooking, cleaning, standing in line at the bank, walking your dog, whatever—you should simply try to open yourself up to listening to the God (which we Christians know as the Holy Spirit) within you. God is never not talking to you. Just give a listen once (or twice, or thrice) in a while. Trust that you will be extremely interested in everything God has to say to you. The more you listen to God the more you’ll want to listen to what is, after all, a voice that’s as close to you—and is as much about you—as any can possibly be.
Reflecting upon God. This is about the easiest thing in the world to do. God is everywhere manifested: in all nature, in all people, in all the shapes, forms, colors, textures. God exists in every moment of your experience. Or just look into the depths of your own self: There he is! Reflect upon him/her/it. Use the fact of the divine and immediate reality of God to lift you into the kind of grand, passive contemplation that is, after all, one of richest, sweetest experiences life has to offer.
Being humble before God. You don’t know jack crap about life—and you’ll be dead before you know it. Be with that truth for a while. Appreciate it. Let it grow within you. Let it overwhelm you. Let it drop you to your knees.
Trusting God. In those three simple words lie the key to best, richest, most rewarding life possible. It’s hard to elaborate on so perfect a phrase. Trust in God. Do it. Every once in a while—especially if it’s been a while—stop whatever you’re doing, and hold in your mind and heart the fact that the entirely of everything you ever worry about is in the hands of God, and that everything about you and your world is orchestrated by God so that ultimately you will know the peace and joy of His/Her/Its abiding presence. It has never been any different, and never will be: God loves you, and is worthy of your trust. Stop, sometimes, to relax into that amazing truth, and to rejoice around it. (Note: the more abstract your notion of God/The Divine/The Big Truth, the more difficult it will be for you to do this one.)
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