Drawing Near to God as an Enthusiast

"...He made known to us the mystery of His will..."

Ephesians 1:9

" 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."

Acts 2:17

en·thu·si·ast

[en-thoo-zee-ast, -ist]

–noun

2. a religious visionary or fanatic.

Do you search for signs in the world around you? Do you seek God's will fervently? Have you ever had answer to prayer? Perhaps a miracle? 

I know I have. 

Drawing near to God as an enthusiast is, as the name would suggest, is one of the most exciting ways to experience His presence. This is where faith and tangible collide. This where, with a sensitive heart, one can actually see and hear God. 

I've had dreams that I feel were warnings from God (in fact the last one I posted about this past Sunday!). 

I've had my soul tugged on by the Holy Spirit--pointing out signs and warnings.

I've also had God work incredible miracles in my life. It is in moments of crises and devastation that I've been able to lean so fully on God that I could put my complete and utter faith in him. Don't get me wrong, I've never lost my faith in God... but there have been times where I didn't fully trust God. That is why you know me as the Daily Stumbler. I have a wobbly faith. I am self-centered and all too often mistakenly think that I have got things under control, that I can "do" life on my own. 

However, there have been times when life has knocked me to my knees. I've had nothing left of my own power. All there was left for me to do was to pray. And trust. And pray some more. The exciting thing was... God responded to me when I was broken. He heard my prayers for miracles and he granted them. God transformed my heart and gave me strength when I needed it. He also transformed the hearts of those closest to me. I've seen him change a heart of cold cruelty into a heart of love. I don't really want to go into too much detail about my miracle... as it is incredibly personal... however, believe me when I say... our God is a God of miracles. He listens to his children even in this modern, fast-paced era. God listens and responds. 

I would consider myself an "occasional enthusiast". Sometimes my heart is in the right place to receive visions, signs, and miracles. I wish I had the faith and humility to live in this state more often. However, my self-centeredness often gets in the way. Enthusiasts draw close to God by seeking and receiving signs from Him. They teeter between fervent asking and zealous praise when their requests are granted. God doesn't always respond with signs and wonders... but when he does, his children notice. Being blessed with a miracle (big or small) even just once in a lifetime is enough to bring a person to tears and thank their Heavenly Father for revealing Himself to them in such an incredible way.

I thank God for the miracles he's performed in my life already. I pray that he'd keep my heart sensitive and humble enough to continue to receive his signs, visions, messages, and miracles. I hope that this Stumbler will learn to trust God fully so that she will stumble no more.

**This post is in my "Drawing Near to God" series inspired by Gary Thomas' book Sacred Pathways.