Does God have “methods”?
I don’t really think God’s about “methods.”
I think He’s about relationship.
I didn’t always know that. I think it’s because from a very young age things like church attendance, Bible reading, gratitude and prayer were very “routine.” We went to church every Sunday—twice! We prayed before meals. We prayed after meals. We read the Bible every day. We said prayers every night.
Sometimes I’d get in trouble if I didn’t do these practices. My hand might get slapped if I took a bite to eat before praying. Skip church on Sunday, and you’d get a guilt trip. And don’t even think about doing work on Sunday—not even homework—because you know, “Sunday is a day of rest.”
All this to say that these practices seemed like they were VERY important and therefore VERY important to God too. But no one ever told me WHY they were important. No, instead, these practices were put on such a high pedestal that doing them—or not doing them—became tinged with anxiety, laced with obligation. I think that’s why I tried so bloomin’ hard to “use” these methods to help me with my mental health. Because somewhere along the line, I picked up that these practices were supposed to be a source of life, rather than realizing that God Himself was that source.
Because somewhere along the line, I picked up that these practices were supposed to be a source of life, rather than realizing that God Himself was that source.
It wasn’t until years later that I realized that all these so-called “methods”—Bible reading, prayer, gratitude, etc.—were really just different forms of communication.
Take the Bible… it’s kinda like a giant love letter from God, telling us the story of how much He loves us and sharing ways we can continue to live in that love with ourselves and others.
And what about prayer? In its essence, it’s really just talking and listening. It’s unloading what’s on our hearts and listening for guidance, comfort and love from the One who knows us best.
And gratitude? It’s remembering to say thank you. It’s a posture of looking for the blessings in life and realizing these blessings are simply gifts from a gracious God.
Yes, somewhere in my journey, relationship with God got mixed up with practices that were meant to enhance that relationship.
Relationship with God got mixed up with practices that were meant to enhance that relationship.
As far as I know, God isn’t about recipes. He isn’t about 1,2,3s. He isn’t about “doing” more. Praying more. Practicing more. He’s about “being” more. Resting more. Abiding in the acceptance He won for you; that He won for me.
So, the next time you feel anxiety that you’re not reading the Bible as much as you should, praying as much as you should, feeling gratitude as much as you should, maybe trash the “shoulds” and trust the shoulders of the One who simply wants your heart, more than He wants your habits.
