Does God Reside Within Me?

Prior to 2007, I would have never approached this subject. However, my life changed. On the weekend of March 24, 2007, I had two very clear “God moments.” On that weekend, I knew without question that God existed, that God reached out to me to let me know He existed, and ever since then I have felt the responsibility to share what I have found. That has taken me to this post.
Now, I know many people in this world do feel that God is within them. Some religions are based on this, are based on finding God within. While there is truth to this, the bottom-line reality of this presence of God within is based upon our cooperation with this Divine presence. The explanation of this cooperation is where many religions differ.
So, let’s say that you sense that God guides you, that He assists you in making decisions. How do you know this guidance is not from you alone? How do you know that this guidance is from God? If you feel this guidance is from God, do you test it to make sure? How do you test it? Are others involved in this testing?
Prior to 2007, I did not feel God’s existence within me. After 2007, I began a more intense personal study to find out more about God, Jesus Christ, and about the Holy Spirit. What I post upon here is based upon this study, my experiences, and upon my being involved in many spiritual discussions. As you might can tell, Christian Spirituality has become more than a hobby for me.
OK, so my understanding is that God in the form of the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us upon Christian baptism. For those of us who are Confirmed at an older age, we experience more of the Holy Spirit sacramentally. I have come to understand that in order to know how God leads us and guides us, we must know who God is. I have come to know who God is through Sacred Scripture study, reading Christian spirituality resources, attending adult formation sessions at church, sharing with other dedicated Christians, maintaining an active prayer life, participating weekly at Mass, and by looking for God’s presence at most all times within nature, within sequences of events, and within others. By maintaining a focus on God’s presence, and by continually learning about who God is through God the Father, God the Son in Jesus Christ, and through God the Holy Spirit, I have come to understand who God is. With this better understanding of who God is, I have come to almost predict how God would want me to live, how He would want me to react in a particular decision. This is in line with the phrase we may well have seen or heard, “What Would Jesus Do?”, or “WWJD?”
So, to know God better is to know better how He would lead us. In those times when we look within ourselves for God’s presence, for God’s guidance, this discipline I have outlined greatly assists me in discerning if God is truly leading me or if I am leading myself. Moreover, testing these leadings by discussing them with a trusted dedicated Christian friend or with a trusted pastor/minister/priest may assist us in discerning if God is leading. I test these leadings to see if they are consistent with the teachings of Christ. I also try to sense a feeling of peace from within if the decision I have made was under what I sense as God’s guidance. If I truly sense a peace about a decision I received in prayer, that for me is big confirmation that God is involved.
I realize this is a topic not often discussed, and certainly not in much detail. Many of us are uncomfortable with this. Many of us simply have not learned how to pray in this way. However, there are some of us who believe that we are following God’s will for us, when, in actuality, if we are honest with ourselves, we are really deciding to follow our own wills instead, without admitting it.
My life is so changed with this discipline. I have experienced things I would have never experienced. I have more joy than I could have ever imagined. My endless search for so many years for deep satisfaction and joy was fruitless for so long until I learned about this kind of thing. My life is so much more meaningful now. I sense a purpose to most all I do. I care for the “greater good ” so much more.
The reason I write about faith and such is for this reason just explained. It is too wonderful, too fulfilling, too important not to share. Please reach out to a trusted dedicated friend, to a minister/pastor/priest, or to me if you want to know more. Feel free to contact me in any way you desire, even using the Contact Us section on this web page; only I receive them. This life can be so much greater!