This post is intended to be used in conjunction with the 12-week Bible Study of Experiencing God by Henry, Richard, and Mike Blackaby and Claude V. King. References to specific quotes and texts are indicated by ‘EG’ and the corresponding page number and come from the 2022 publication.
With this week’s study, we’ve concluded Experiencing God.
I was thinking about the word “experience” this week and how it’s used. I frequently look at Yelp for reviews on different businesses. People will often describe their experience with a business- whether it’s a restaurant, hair salon, or auto mechanic – to basically rate that business. “We had a wonderful experience” or “I just had the most horrifying experience” or “I’ve never experienced anything like that before!” or “I have to tell you about my experience”.
Those reviews can help or hurt a business. The sad fact is that sometimes people will boast loudly about bad experiences, but remain selfishly quiet about the good experiences.
I, like some of you, was out on Black Friday this past week. My two daughters and I were out and about for a good portion of the day, visiting several stores, a restaurant, and a coffee shop. As you would expect, there were a few people whose names are definitely on the naughty list.
There was the lady at Belk who was downright ugly to the cashier because the sweater she was trying to purchase wasn’t ringing up as inexpensively as she thought it should be. There was also the teenage girl at the coffee shop who didn’t understand why they wouldn’t go ahead and make her cold drink before making all of the other drinks that had been ordered ahead of hers. And then there was the lady at the movie theatre who said she didn’t have time to stand in line to get her popcorn and drink so she simply walked up to a register and placed an order in front of all of us who were standing in line.
After I got home late Friday evening, I was checking my emails. There was one from the coffee shop wanting to know how my “experience” was that day in their establishment. These were some of the questions that were asked.
How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or family member?
How satisfied were you with your experience?
How helpful was the staff?
How well were your needs understood?
Did you find our hours convenient for you?
How well were your needs understood?
How satisfied were you with the wait time?
What was the reason for your visit today?
How often do you plan on visiting us in the future?
How did you hear about us?
Can we contact you to follow up in more detail on your responses?
I filled out that survey, but as I was doing so, I thought about that young girl who was aggravated with the service and the wait time. I imagined what her answers would be in regard to her experience and if her survey responses would keep someone else from going there.
But then I thought how interesting it might be for those who work in customer service to be able to complete a survey on the customers. What kind of ratings would that young girl have gotten if those working in the coffee shop were to answer questions about her such as: Would you recommend this customer to other businesses? How satisfied were you with your experience with this customer?
We’ve just completed Experiencing God and I want to ask you these same survey questions. Not about the study, but about your actual experience with God.
How likely are you to recommend God to a friend or family member?
How satisfied were you with your experience with God?
How helpful was God?
How well were your needs understood by God?
Did you find God’s hours convenient for you?
How satisfied were you with the wait time on God?
What was the reason for your visit with God today?
How often do you plan on visiting God in the future?
How did you hear about God?
Can God contact you to follow up in more detail on your responses?
Take a look at the 7 realities on the inside of the back cover. (Notice that God takes the action in the first 5. We take the action on the last 2.)
We’ve just spent the last 12 weeks learning how to experience God. This isn’t the end, but rather we are to take the tools we’ve learned and make application from here on out.
What have you learned, changed, and/or experienced during these past few months? Even if it’s a small change, rejoice in that!
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
“Small changes can make huge destination differences.” Sean Covey
Let’s end with something to think about. You know how I said it would be interesting for those in customer service to fill out a survey on their customers? What kind of ratings would God give about YOU if He were to be questioned?
How likely is God to recommend me to a fellow believer?.
How satisfied was God in His experience with me?
How helpful was I to God?
How well did I understand God’s needs?
Did God find my hours convenient to Him?
How satisfied was God with the wait time He experienced with me?
Although the study is over, the application continues. I encourage you to keep your workbook nearby, as a convenient resource. There are so many challenges, snippets of spiritual common sense, “ah-ha” summary statements, mind-blowing bits of convicting declarations, and passages of overwhelming encouragement contained in this God-given study. Reread it, visit it often, and continue making adjustments so that you can EXPERIENCE GOD!
Beacons of Light 