Weekly Devotional: Encountering God

“Look to the Lord and His strength; seek his face always.” – 1 Chronicles 16:11

For a good portion of my life I believed that God was only reserved for reading the Bible and church. I thought that that was the only place where you would be table to talk to Him, to hear Him and gain a relationship. High-school me thought church and the Bible were boring and just another thing to add to my day.

What I had failed to realize is that God is not just restricted to a church or a book; He’s always with you and always available to talk. You can literally encounter Him anytime and anywhere. While reading your Bible and going to church are just as equally important in themselves, there are many other ways to encounter God. Ways that will switch up your schedule and make Him seem anything but boring.

Check out some of the ways you can encounter God below:

On a Hike

Something that really helped me get into the routine of reading my Bible and getting into God’s word was to switch up where I dug into His word. I could only do my morning Bible study in my room for so long before I got sick of the view.

Hiking has helped switch things up and allowed me to get some great exercise at the same time! To this day, I will hike a trail, listening to some worship music on the way up. When I get to the top or to my destination point, I will open up my Bible and do my study there. It allowed me to go somewhere new, get exercise and enjoy God’s presence.

At a Coffee Shop

My senior year of high school my friend and I decided to meet at a coffee shop once a week in the morning for a Bible study. We got our lattes and opened up our Bibles and dug into the word. That was one of the first times I had really done a Bible study outside of my house and church and I found it refreshing. It also allowed for me to connect with friends and have deep conversations about Jesus.

The Morning Commute

Podcasts are all the rage now and for the people who have a long commute or some extra time in the car to spare, I highly recommend listening to a sermon on your phone. There are many on all platforms and so many different messages. It’s a good way to start your morning and hear new perspectives of the Bible. All without taking your eyes off the road!

You can also switch up your daily playlist with a worship playlist on your way to work or class. I have multiple kinds of worship playlists that vary from fast to slow. Whatever my mood is, I have a playlist for it and it allows me to worship God in a different way in the car. Plus, it’s all worship songs that I enjoy and get to choose so what’s not to like?

Making Art

Another recent popular thing to do is to paint in your journaling Bible. I like to read my devotion and if a word or phrase really pops out to me, I either underline it and make a note or I pull out my paints and create something on the pages. I use various types of paint from acrylic to watercolors and allow myself to get fueled by Him. In the end, I end up with a beautiful reminder of my time with God and a phrase or word from Him.

Grand Canyon University is committed to following the Lord in all circumstances. If you would like to learn more about GCU’s Christian identity and heritage or would like to read more devotionals please visit our website and check out the GCU Blog.