When God Becomes Real

by Brian Johnson

perspective. As I turned the pages, I wondered which chapters and verses I should read first that morning. Even as I started, I sensed God reminding me that my devotional life was going to look different than it had before, and I didn’t need to worry about getting through a certain number of verses or chapters. There was no goal but spending time with Him, no agenda other than connection. I was going to slow everything way down. I wasn’t in a race, and I needed to let each word get into my spirit. I turned to the book of John and started taking in each word really slowly. As I was reading, the words leapt off the page, and I knew there was a grace for this season. I felt a closeness to God. He was near, and this was the direction I was supposed to take. I was completely content to fall into this season of peaceful connection and pursuit. It was unexplainable, but I knew I was on the right track. I wasn’t trying to get anything, and it wasn’t about accomplishing something. In those moments, I had no desire to try to accomplish anything. It felt like it was just God and me, and I was experiencing what it would be like in heaven. I’m such a goal-driven person that my devotional time had become more about quantity time rather than quality time. But now there was a carefree way that I could approach time with God. I meditated on the words, and I stayed in that chair until the kids came into the kitchen just a couple of