Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Growing up in the faith, I always struggled with the idea of following a God that I couldn't see or touch. I was always worried that somebody was going to ask me to prove the existence of God, and I wouldn't know how to do it. This actually caused me to struggle with my faith for a long time.
If you've ever struggled with those feelings, I think our Verse of the Day has some hope to speak into your life. It comes from 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 8. "You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy."
A Story of Musical Worship
If I can share a story with you: A few weeks ago I was in church and I was entering into the service really excited. I love all portions of church, and I don't just say that as somebody who worked in the church—I genuinely love every little facet of it. The one that I most connect with is musical worship.
Ever since I was little, music has just spoken to my soul. I remember being six years old, taking piano lessons and the piano teacher saying: "He just feels the music." I would just sit there and plunk around on the keys while dancing around with my body.
As I grew in the faith, I realized that this was actually God speaking to me through music.
Drawing Closer to Heaven
As I was in church, I was singing the songs, and I just found myself getting swept away in all of the truths that I was singing and listening to this myriad of voices singing these same truths. I had my hands raised in the air, and I just felt like my soul was lifting off the ground.
It was just this light moment where this gap between earth and heaven felt like it was starting to grow narrower and narrower and narrower. I was just so moved, and I found myself starting to get really emotional.
A Bittersweet Longing
Then all of a sudden, in the intermingling of my joy, came this almost burden and sadness because I felt myself going, God, You feel so close and yet so out of reach. It was like You were just past my fingertips.
This wasn't to say that God wasn't present. This wasn't to say that His Spirit wasn't dwelling in me, moving in radical ways. It wasn't to say that I didn't know that God was in every moment of every day of my life.
It was this reminder that worship was just an echo of eternity. That as we stand in the throne rooms of heaven and sing His glory before Him, it's going to be even more powerful than what we experience here on this earth.
My Soul Crying Out
It's those very feelings that make me certain that God is in heaven. Even though I can't see or hear or touch Him in the ways that I can the people around me, these moments remind me that my soul is screaming out for what it knows is there.
My arms are reaching out for my Father in heaven. My mind is reminding me of all the truth of God's Word that says there is something beyond this life. Look forward to it with inexpressible joy.
How We Know God Is Real
This is how we know that there's a God in heaven. We prove it through experiencing His love, through filling our minds with His truth and seeing His plan unfold in our lives and the world around us.
If you've ever felt like you're struggling to believe God is real, or maybe you find yourself there right now, pause and look for all the ways that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us.
Through the splendor of creation around us—like Paul tells us in Romans—through His Word that tells us all about His character and nature and His good plans for us, and the people around us that show us His love so that we might say, man, God is working in powerful, powerful ways.
Hold On to These Moments
Take those moments and hold on to them tight, setting your eyes on the hope of eternity with Him. Because whatever you're feeling, just know that God is closer than you could ever imagine.
