Miraculous Freedom

My dear friend Kelly recently shared with me on the podcast about her journey through a dark night of the soul, during which she felt very distant from God and wondered if He was still there. Kelly has one of the most beautiful relationships with the Lord of anybody I know, yet, even someone whose walk with God I admire isn’t immune to tests of faith. 

Too often we live under the expectation that our relationship with God will be and should be up and to the right, all the time…that we should always be making progress in it. But the fact is: we live in a fallen world, and we are imperfect beings. The storms of life rock us–whether an unwanted diagnosis, a relational chasm, or a tumultuous transition to a new life stage, even one that we wanted and prayed for–and we’re thrown off course. 

The important thing is, though, that we keep showing up honestly, without pretense, and confess our deepest feelings, frustrations, and questions, whether they’d make our Sunday school class cringe or not. Scripture promises us we’ll find God if we seek Him with all of our hearts (Jeremiah 29:13), and sometimes, seeking Him wholeheartedly means having the boldness to ask the hard questions like: God, where are you? God, do you see me? God, do you care?

Sometimes, seeking God wholeheartedly means having enough boldness to ask the hard questions.

When I asked Kelly how her faith survived its most intense test and what she’s done to stay close to God afterwards, her response surprised me. Instead of giving me a list of tasks, she returned my question with one of her own: “How do you connect with God?” She went on to explain that we’re all different and may need to try different methods (of similar practices– praying and Bible reading are central to the Christian walk for all of us) to engage with the Lord. Furthermore, what has worked beautifully in one season may not work in the next due to changing life circumstances. When I was a single woman, for example, I could easily take my Bible, journal, or spiritual growth book to a coffee shop and linger for HOURS! It was one of my favorite ways to fill my spiritual cup. Now, with a one-year-old that I am absolutely head over heels for, that isn’t a weekly rhythm I’m able to implement, as it would require more planning and sacrifice of family time than I can offer. In this season, walking different trails with my daughter while praying or listening to an encouraging podcast (The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast is a new fav!), along with waking up before her to prayer journal and dig into the word from the comfort of my couch, have been the best ways for me to connect with Him. 

Isn’t it a blessing that there’s freedom in this area of our lives? God is so creative, and we’re all different, so it makes sense that while we all need to connect with God through worship, prayer, and His word, we may go about putting these things into practice differently. 

I prefaced the following list with all of the above so that when you read it, you don’t take it as, “Here’s what I have to do.” Instead, I hope you read it as, “Here are some things that have worked for one person; I wonder what will work for me.” 

So without further ado, here are six ways Kelly is currently spending time with the Lord: 

1. Dancing before Him. During Kelly’s interview, she said, “If I’m going to show God how much I love Him and how He makes me feel, what can I do?” I have to confess, never once has that thought entered my mind! It was such a fresh take on communing with God and reminded of King David: “And David danced before the LORD with all of his might.” – 2 Samuel 6:14a
2. Going on prayer walks. You can hear more of how she got started and what that time looks like for her here!
3. Pausing to listen before leaving home. This one is so tender! Before she leaves for work each day, she sits with open hands and asks God what He’d like to say to her. This practice reminds me of Moses telling God he didn’t want to move without hearing a word from Him: “Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.’” – Exodus 33:15 Kelly also explained a simple way to learn to discern if what you’re hearing is God’s voice or not with a concept from the book Walking with God by John Eldgredge (which is very important!). Simply put, ask a yes/no question that you KNOW the answer to, based on scripture, for example, “God, do you love me?” Since numerous Bible verses affirm God’s love for us, we know the answer to this is YES. If you are hearing anything besides that, you can be sure that is not the voice of God. Keep asking until you hear “yes,” and that will give you an indication of what God’s voice sounds like.
4. Journaling. Whether you are an introvert or extrovert, being able to process one-on-one with God in this way can be helpful. Writing what you’re feeling, what you’re concerned about, and what you’re grateful for can help you make sense of what’s going on in your life, bringing clarity to situations. Looking back at previous entries can also boost your faith as you look back and see evidence of God’s faithfulness in your life. 
5. Reading God’s word. This one doesn’t need much of an explanation! Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Reading the word is the first step of hiding it in our hearts. Whether you follow a Bible reading plan or not, whether you listen to the Bible on audio or read it yourself, engaging in God’s word should be prioritized. It will not return void! (Isaiah 55:11)
6. Putting technology in its proper place in order to create mental space to engage with God. A few things Kelly mentioned that have worked for her are: Using an old fashioned alarm clock and not taking her phone into her bedroom at night (if you live in a dorm, you can do this by keeping your phone in a location that you’re unable to reach from your bed, like the top of your minifridge or on your desk),  deleting instagram (yikes!), and not turning to Google (or ChatGPT) to grasp for knowledge (double yikes!) since this can create an illusion of control, rather than increasing our trust in the Lord.

Again, this list isn’t meant to be prescriptive; it’s meant to help spark ideas for you to connect with God.  Feel free to listen to or watch either of my conversations with Kelly to hear more about this topic: Freed From Feeling Distant From God: How My Faith Survived a Dark Night of the Soul & Freed From Innocent Distractions: How I Carve Out Mind Space to Hear God’s Voice, and I encourage you to ask the Lord if there’s any new way He wants to connect with you!

What would you add, and which of these do you want to try? Let us know, and be blessed on your journey of connecting with the Lord.