In my mid-twenties, I grew very disillusioned with normal life. It was fun to hang out with my friends and find ways to entertain myself but it seemed like life should contain something more. I didn’t know what that “something more” meant; I was just searching.
I began to read self-help books and learned a little bit from each one. I was seeking to live my life more purposefully. As time progressed, I moved on to more new age type of books. I really began to see God as a wonderful, loving being that I desired more of. The new age teachings gave me a little bit of that–but only a little bit.
But God seemed to take hold of me. It was as if He was drawing me up a staircase and on each level I learned a little more. Luckily, or whether providentially, God didn’t let me find that “something more” completely in any of those books because if I had, I might have stopped my search.
One day, I felt in my spirit Jesus saying to me, “Okay, you’ve tried all of those other things, now how about trying Me?”
I went to the store to get an Amy Grant greatest hits CD. I didn’t know a lot of Christian artists at the time but I knew her. I believed the words of every song as I joyfully sang along. My Spirit had changed and I was different in the best way possible!
I didn’t understand the Bible intellectually yet but my Spirit knew and held tightly to the Truth.
I thought about going to a church that my mother and brother attended but procrastination set in.
However, I was only able to procrastinate on it for about six months…
The Columbine high school shootings happened and I was a mess. I hadn’t known anyone personally that was murdered but the massacre got my attention. In my mind, the world had sunken to a new low and evil seemed to be winning. I knew that God was The Answer!
I went to church the next Sunday and haven’t missed many since. I began to learn more about what had already been stirring in my heart.
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
And he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
Out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord.
~ Psalm 40:1-3
Is your heart stirring?
Are you looking for “something more”?
You can only find that “something more” in Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And He wants you to know Him better. Come just as you are, right now.
Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. ~ Psalm 66:16-19