When God Becomes Real

by Brian Johnson

“We can fight our darkest fears with nothing more than praise and worship. As God is glorified, atmospheres are shifted when He comes. He eradicates our enemies and drives out our fear. Praise and worship were the things that ushered in the Presence of God and brought freedom.”

Through my experiences, I came to realize that when someone is healed instantly, it often speaks of their identity as a son or daughter of God. But when healing or freedom is progressive and takes place over time, it’s often because that person is being trained for war, and when you’re trained for war, you gain authority and power in that area.

How does God work through pain? How does He use it? I didn’t understand it back then, and to be honest, I’m still not sure I understand now. But I’ve come to see that none of my own efforts to ease the pain, pressure and tension worked. It was my full surrender to the process with Him that brought peace.

As the stresses, pains and pressures of life came, I took time to recognize it and first bring it to God. Sometimes I just needed to work it out with God. But then there were the times that I’d need to talk through the issues with friends, staff members or even Jenn, and We’d work it out. I’d learned it was important to deal with issues quickly before they had a chance to grow and become a place of disconnection.

“There will come a time when you can’t avoid the stress of life or numb the pain anymore. And when your coping mechanisms don’t work anymore, consider it a gift. Consider it a gift when God becomes your only option.”

“Experience the pain,” I said, “and bring it to God. You’ll find Him faithful.”