Pastor Tricia's Ramblings

Do You Remember the Moment God Became Real to You?

I said a prayer to accept Jesus as my Savior when I was just six years old. As a little girl, I set out to live my life for Him. I went to church. I read my Bible. I prayed. I went on mission trips, sang in choir, and gave money from whatever I had. I did all the right things.

But doing all the right things is not the same as knowing God.

Years later, as a young adult serving on staff at a church, I was going through Evangelism Explosion training. On the last night of our training, my team went out to visit our assigned contacts—but none of them were home. So my partner and I headed to a nearby park to walk through the presentation together, just to complete the requirement.

As I led him through the gospel presentation, something stirred in my spirit. And when it was his turn to lead me through it, I honestly couldn’t hear much of what he was saying. I was wrestling with the Holy Spirit.

I heard Him say, “You know about Me, but you don’t know Me.”

That moment wrecked me. It was like scales fell from my eyes. I had done all the “Christian things,” but I didn’t have an intimate relationship with God. I had been living for Him, but I hadn’t really surrendered to Him.

That night changed the direction of my life. I laid down my plans. I laid down my self-effort. It became no longer about what I could do for God, but what He wanted to do through me. Since then, I haven’t walked a perfect path, but I have walked a surrendered one.

I stopped asking, What can God do for me?

And I started asking, God, what do You want to do through me?

I didn’t want to live for my own comfort anymore. I wanted to live to honor Him.

From that moment, God became real to me—more real than ever before.

Let me ask you a question:

Do you live like you know God is real?

I don’t mean believing in a God who watches you from the sky.

I mean living like He’s right here with you—engaged in your everyday life.

What would change in your life if you could physically see Jesus walking beside you—

In every conversation,

Every room you enter,

Every book you read,

Every site you visit,

Every show you watch?

What would shift if His presence was that real to you?

When we begin to see Jesus as real, it transforms us at the very core.

You see, we can’t love Jesus and follow the world.

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other…” (Matthew 6:24).

James puts it even more directly: “Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

You can’t have it both ways.

God isn’t calling you to lip service.

He’s calling you to a love story.

To an all-in, nothing-held-back relationship.

There’s a difference between loving God and being in love with God.

So let me ask you this:

Are you ready to stop serving God just for what He can do for you?

Are you ready to ask Him what He wants to do through you?

Because when you yield your purpose to His plan…

When you go from loving a distant God to being in love with an engaged Father…

It will change everything.