Why is it that when many Christians talk about spiritually significant times in their lives that retreats, conferences, worship festivals, summer camps, and missions trips are normally the first experiences to come to mind? Why have these events become the place for many Christians to experience God? Why do we have to get away from regular life to enjoy life? Why do we feel like we have to wait for some event to jump start our relationship with God? Why is it so hard to experience God in the everyday drill of life?
These thoughts have been bouncing around in my head as I think back to recent conversations. When a friend asks about what God is doing in my life, I tend to describe the my recent missions trip to Ireland, the new ideas that I learned at the National Youth Workers Conference or how God moved in my life at a retreat last month. I hardly ever mention the beauty of a typical sunset or how God showed up in a normal day at work. For some reason, we never think to look for God in everyday life. I believe this is because we have falsely connected having a meaningful moment with God as something that must produce a certain feeling or memory. People never stop to realize that in the midst of their experience, even those times where nothing special happens, God is in it after all.
God is not an event, feeling or fond memory. God is a spirit who is ever present if we only have eyes to see.
Retreats, conferences, seminars and camps have become so popular that ever ministry or church seems to tout some kind of event. Most people come looking for the next spiritual shortcut to greater happiness and fulfillment in life.
While many report being changed, they quickly tend to go back to their old lives and habits after the event. It doesn't usually take long for the spiritual buzz to wear off. Now these events are not all bad. Many are fantastic. Some are necessary steps to get where God wants us to be. But these should never be what we live for or the only place where we feel that we really experience God.
While God made both the mountains and the valleys, He knows that we can't really appreciate one without the other. God wants us to get to the point where our feelings, circumstances and surrounding do not impact our relationship with God or our sense of Him being active and involved in our lives.
Events are great. We just need to learn to keep them in perspective. Ultimately, it is what happens when we come back to life as usual that decides whether the mountain top experience is truly meaningful.
