There is a fine line between searching for God and discovering yourself. I personally say they are almost synonymous. Recently, some Christian messaging has worried me. They are saying it is all about the experience. That your feelings matter. Yet, in the Biblical world that is far from the truth. Paul mentions in Romans 1 we have no excuse to not believe. God gets mad at Moses several times because Moses let his emotions get the better of him. The same can be said of Peter and Jesus. In-fact Acts 10:34 has Peter saying God is no respecter of persons. It means to have no favoritism. I mention all this because too many people want the Jesus experience. They want to get holy vibes in worship. Pastors craft sermons to make you laugh. To make you go home feeling good. Why? So that you will come back. So that you will feel good about the church. Now, I do get it that a boring droned out experience might be awful. Like I said it is a fine line. God wants to provide joy, happiness, and blessings. He is interested in keeping Christianity interesting. Yet, at times, some churches take the whole thing far too serious. However, I do what to encourage you that finding God means you will find yourself. Consequently, you cannot find God without finding yourself. To know God is to know why He made you. God supplies gifts and traits that make up our character. We are good at a few things that others are not. God made defined individuals. I have mentioned from time to time that we are given 10% of who we are. God will explore the other 90%. Why? Why not give it all to us? I feel it is because we will take what God meant for good and use it for evil. It is that simple. What does God have to say? Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” It is that simple. God called me when I was in my lowest point. A point where I did not have a clue who I was. As I started to know God, strangely I began to explore who I am. He had a plan for me? He bestowed gifts on me? I had a purpose? David had attributes that made him who he was. God used those. I feel that Moses grew as a person in the company of God. So did Paul and Peter. Each one of them grew to know God better. Yet, they found themselves in the process. I stood in the mirror about 25 years ago lost. Yet, in that time I have remarried, gained a degree, and just ran a full marathon. There are so many new things about me that I did not know before. Somehow God has worked on my ability to see myself. I also can see God clearer. Funny enough, I see the world clearer too. Has it all been about happiness and feelings? Honestly, hell no! this has been a tough journey. Look at the lives of Moses, David, and Paul. Their lives were not pretty, yet they found peace win God. I suspect they encountered peace within themselves too. Yesterday I ran my first marathon at 57. It was an amazing experience. It is stunning really. I never envisioned it. Yet, there I was having the best time for my life. The plan, self-talk, and prayer to God had not been there before. During the race, there I was praying thx to God; talking to myself words of encouragement; Plus, I was embracing my plan. A plan to prosper my life. The same prosper that God said He would give to those who seek Him out. To be honest, it never occurred to me that should develop myself as a person. I thought it just happens over time. Oh boy, was I wrong. It saddens me that so many people seem to be stuck. I encounter many kinds of people each day. Yet, I hear their stories about how life is going. In those conversations I cringe just a little. The words “I should” and “I will eventually” make me sad. Life is far shorter than you think. People die in so many ways all the time. From cancer to accidents, life is a challenging game of trying to stay alive. Then you can add in our finite bodies and age. Exactly when will you begin? I did run in my youth, but I stopped. Why? I tried new things in my youth but I stopped. Why? That “why” turned into 33 years of stagnant living. I knew a boy that died at 21. He never got the chance to pass or fail. Most of us get that chance. Yet, most of us allow the stagnant life to win. I am not done! There is more to learn and more to do. The key is God. He has the plan and foreknowledge of how to experience the remaining 90%. Are you seriously going to tell me that 10% is good enough? I do not care what you tell me. You do not own the extra 90%. Someone might say that it is no fair of God to hold back. That knowing God would not help. The key is this: without trying you cannot know. It is that simple. Seeking God is the only way you will achieve the best heights. It is the only way to see yourself and the world around you more clearly. The bonus? How about knowing God as He truly is.