When going through hard times and temptation, it is important for you to know that God is with you. Jesus is, after all, Emmanuel, “God-with-us” who promises, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Whether facing down giants, invading armies, or mutiny, David needed to know that God was always with Him. Thus, David practiced being present to God Who is always present to us. We see David’s determination to practice the presence of God in Psalm 16:8: “I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
But how? How can you, like David, always keep the Lord before you with the confidence that He is at your right hand? Through the centuries there have been several practices helping Christians to daily seek God’s presence. But it was at an especially difficult point in my journey that I learned ‘The Daily God Hunt’ from authors David and Karen Mains in their book, Daring to Dream Again. Just as some people hunt for buried treasure, gold, bargains, deer, and their glasses, so I was launched on the wondrous daily adventure of hunting for God. Happily, I was never disappointed in my hunt!
You begin The Daily God Hunt first thing in the morning, before your feet hit the floor, saying to God that you will be looking for Him throughout your day. Then, with eyes wide open you set off to hunt for God’s presence in any one or more of the following ways:
• An obvious answer to prayer;
• God showing Himself in His creation (stunning sunrise, exquisite design of a flower, the Milky Way, intricacy of your eye);
• God present to you through another person’s words or actions;
• God helping you to do His work in the world;
• Any evidence of God’s love and blessing in your life;
• Add any other God Hunt moments you might experience.
Do you get the idea? You are daily hunting for God “in whom we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) and angels praise “as the whole earth is filled with his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). In time, you will increasingly become aware of God with you, and be like Jacob who “woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place – and I did not know it’” (Genesis 28:16).
Continue your Daily God Hunt in the evening as you reflect back to note ‘God Sightings’ in your day; you might even want to record them. Then, thank the Lord for those God Sightings and His presence with you throughout your day. You can double the delight of your God Hunt and Sightings by sharing them with another person. Your God Sightings can be an encouragement to others and perhaps launch them on their own Daily God Hunt.
Many people have found that by practicing The Daily God Hunt they are able to say: “I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16:8). Like David we experience the Lord as our strength, shield and salvation in times of trouble!
The Daily God Hunt will help you to experience the Lord’s promised presence with you.
