Book summary “Experiencing God”: summary

Introduction

True spiritual growth comes not from making human plans for God, but from adjusting your life to join Him in the redemptive work He is already doing around you.

You may study the Bible, attend church faithfully, and accumulate theological facts, yet feel that God is distant. You try to serve Him using your own strength and ideas, but you experience spiritual dryness and frustration.

Henry T. Blackaby argues that God is always at work around you. You do not need to figure out what to do for God. You need to discover where He is working and join Him there.

The book provides a framework for recognizing God's voice and activity. It guides you through seven distinct realities of spiritual interaction, practical methods for hearing God speak, and the necessity of radical life adjustments.

• How can you know when God is speaking to you?
• What adjustments do you need to make to follow His call?
• How does obedience release God's power in your daily life?

1. Knowing God Through Experience

True knowledge of God comes through firsthand experience and intimate relationship rather than abstract academic study.

The Greek concept of knowing implies understanding a concept mentally. The Hebrew concept used by Jesus entails personal, experiential interaction. Many Christians accumulate theological information about God without ever developing a dynamic relationship or hearing His voice. A genuine saving relationship with Jesus Christ through repentance and faith is the mandatory prerequisite for understanding spiritual truths. Spiritual matters cannot be comprehended by natural intellect alone. They are evaluated spiritually through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Religious activities, infant baptism, or church leadership cannot replace a conscious, personal decision to repent of sin and make Christ Lord.

• Recognize that God created you for a love relationship with Him.
• Admit you are a sinner, and that you cannot save yourself.
• Believe Jesus paid the penalty for your sin by His death on the cross and that He rose from the dead in victory over death.
• Confess your sins that separate you from Him.
• Repent and turn away from your sins.
• Ask Jesus to save you by His grace.
• Turn over the control of your life to Jesus.

God actively pursues individuals and draws them into His divine activity rather than abandoning them to manage life on their own. God does not save people just to let them use their own wits to survive until heaven. He intends to involve them in His ongoing work.

Henry Blackaby's son Richard spent years trying to avoid becoming a pastor by planning to be a schoolteacher. A profound spiritual crisis at 2:30 one Sunday morning broke his resistance and led him to surrender to God's full call.

Biblical names of God are not mere titles. They are records of how people personally came to know God's character through real-life experiences. Whenever God revealed His nature in a new way through historical events, it allowed individuals to know Him by experience. Abraham named the place where God supplied a ram instead of Isaac as Jehovah Jireh, meaning The Lord Will Provide.

• Watch for ways God brings you to a deeper knowledge of Him through life experiences.
• Take time to worship God by revering, honoring, and acknowledging His names as worthy of your praise.

Henry Blackaby and his church in Saskatoon called Jack Conner as a mission pastor without any salary provision. A church in Fayetteville, Arkansas, unexpectedly sent funds that matched the exact moving cost. This occurred after twelve years of ministry in Saskatoon and twenty-five years of waiting by Abraham before Isaac arrived.

The Three Characteristics of God's Nature

Experiencing God requires understanding three foundational characteristics of His nature: His will is always best because He is love, His directions are always right because He is all-knowing, and He can enable any task because He is all-powerful.

God's essential nature dictates how He relates to humanity. Because God is love, His commands act as protective barriers to shield believers from danger and lead them to abundant life. Because He is omniscient, His directives are flawless, requiring no human alternatives. Because He is omnipotent, He empowers ordinary believers to accomplish tasks that are humanly impossible.

• View current circumstances against the backdrop of the cross to anchor trust in God's love.
• Wait for God's clear direction rather than seeking human alternatives.
• Rely entirely on God's power and resources when faced with impossible assignments.

Henry Blackaby's sixteen-year-old daughter Carrie contracted Hodgkins Disease and endured painful chemotherapy. Blackaby anchored his trust in the cross of Christ, recognizing that God's love remained constant despite the tragic and confusing circumstances.

Asking what is God's will for my life is a self-centered and inverted approach. The correct inquiry is simply what is God's will to align one's life with what God is already doing around them. Humans naturally want to know their future path, career, or location in advance. However, God does not give believers a comprehensive life plan or a detailed road map. He invites them into a daily walk where they adjust their lives to His ongoing redemptive work in the world.

• Stop asking What is God's will for my life?
• Shift focus outward from personal desires to God's active work in the world.
• Seek God's guidance one day at a time rather than demanding a full life plan.

Believers are meant to walk alongside Jesus in a shared yoke like an ox, following His immediate guidance daily rather than wearing themselves out with self-generated religious duties. Christian burnout stems from trying to do things for God in human strength. A farmer used an experienced ox paired with a younger one in a single wooden yoke. Jesus invites believers to walk in tandem with Him, taking step-by-step directions rather than demanding a complete road map.

• Stop asking God for a detailed road map of the future.
• Follow Jesus one day at a time, listening for daily instructions.
• Rely on Christ as the living map instead of personal judgment.

Henry Blackaby describes how a farmer gave him a complex set of written directions involving barns, trees, and rocks to find his house. On a subsequent trip, the farmer rode in the vehicle as a living map, guiding him turn by turn.

Being a servant of God does not mean receiving orders to carry out independently. It means remaining moldable like clay in a potter's hands so God can work through the believer. The author contrasts a secular employee with a biblical servant. God first works in a believer to shape them before working through them. True service requires total surrender, where the individual remains available and yields all personal conditions regarding how, when, or where to serve.

• Yield to God as pliable clay in the potter's hands.
• Remain moldable and available for the Master's use.
• Abandon conditional obedience regarding how or where to serve.

True faith budgeting represents a commitment to a God-initiated task rather than relying on a safe, manageable financial plan. During the Vancouver World's Fair, which expected 22 million visitors, an association of churches with 2,000 total members trusted God for a $202,000 outreach budget. They had $9,000 in prior income and a subsequent $16,000 income. They ultimately collected $264,000 and saw nearly 20,000 people accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

• Establish operating budgets based strictly on God-initiated assignments rather than safe human estimates.
• Pray collectively for everything God leads the group to do.

2. The Seven Realities of Experiencing God

God interacts with people through seven consistent practical realities rather than a rigid formula, guiding them to join Him in His ongoing mission.

The author outlines seven common experiences drawn from Scripture that describe how God involves individuals in His work. Moses' life, as described in Exodus chapters 2 through 4, portrays how God leads a person through these seven realities. You can understand these experiences through a clear sequence:

• God is always at work around you.
• God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
• God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
• God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
• God's invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
• You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
• You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.

God is Always at Work Around You

God does not abandon the world to run on its own. He is actively working to bring about redemption. Instead of letting humans dream up independent goals and ask for divine assistance, God approaches them with His own pre-existing agenda and invites them to join Him where He is already operating.

An inner-city church in California that was planning to disband decided to study Experiencing God as a final activity. When an apartment manager asked for help with local latchkey children, the church members engaged the community. They met drug addicts and gang members, and launched thriving new ministries instead of closing.

God's Invitation Leads to a Crisis of Belief

Because God's tasks have eternal dimensions and God-sized proportions, trying to accomplish them independently is impossible. When invited to participate, you face a turning point where you must decide whether God is truly able to fulfill His promises through you. This requires you to walk by faith rather than sight.

Moses responded to God's call at the burning bush by offering multiple objections. He expressed deep insecurity about his eloquence, his authority, and whether the Israelites or Pharaoh would believe him.

Transitioning from human methods to God's agenda requires fundamental life adjustments in thinking, relationships, and commitments. You cannot remain where you are spiritually or practically while simultaneously following God's leading. These adjustments span multiple areas of life, and resisting them causes people to miss out on experiencing God's power.

Moses had to leave his job and extended family in the desert, give up his life as an exile, and return to Egypt. He had to confront the very authorities who previously wanted to punish him.

3. Hearing God Speak and Adjusting Your Life

God communicates through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church, demanding major life adjustments to follow His unfolding agenda.

Throughout biblical history, God has communicated in diverse ways tailored to the individual and the moment, such as through a burning bush or a gentle whisper. You must focus on cultivating an intimate relationship with God rather than idolizing the specific method or relying on formulas. Moses experienced God through a burning bush, which was a singular event with no prior precedent in his life or scripture.

God speaks directly through the Bible by using the Holy Spirit to reveal spiritual truth, which serves as a personal encounter with Him. When the Spirit of truth illuminates a passage, He gives you a fresh understanding of God's ways and purposes. This divine revelation requires you to adjust your life to God and obey it.

Claude King was reminded by Psalm 37:21 of unpaid money he borrowed from his parents. This led him to confess, repay the debt, and reconcile with them.

• Write down the specific verse or verses in a notebook, spiritual journal, or diary.
• Meditate on the passage.
• Study the passage to immerse yourself in its meaning. What is God revealing about Himself, His purposes, or His ways?
• Identify the adjustments you need to make in your personal life, your family, your church, and your work life in response to God’s revelation.
• Write a prayer response to God.
• Begin immediately to make the necessary adjustments in your life to God.
• Watch to see how God uses that truth in your life during the coming days.
• Take action! Obey what God told you to do. Enjoy a fresh experience as He works in and through you.

Prayer is not a one-way list of requests, but a two-way fellowship where the Holy Spirit aligns human desires with God's will. Because God's intentions far exceed human imagination, prayer often results in receiving far more than originally asked. This requires you to watch for God's actual response. Henry Blackaby wanted a blue Schwinn bicycle for his son Richard's sixth birthday. He hid it in the garage and influenced Richard's thinking until Richard asked for it.

Adjusting Your Life to God

The second critical turning point in knowing and doing God's will is adjusting your life to God, which is a mandatory prerequisite for obedience.

When God reveals what He is about to do, it serves as an invitation to realign your life with His purposes, ways, and thinking. You cannot stay where you are or continue business as usual and go with God at the same time. In Saskatoon, Henry Blackaby told a young, financially limited couple not to drive eighty miles a day for school from a mission community because of hazardous winters. The husband replied, "Pastor, don’t deny me the opportunity to sacrifice for my Lord." This prompted the church to affirm their call and God to provide.

• Realign your circumstances, job, home, and finances.
• Adjust your relationships with family, friends, and business associates.
• Change your thinking regarding prejudices, methodology, and planning.
• Reevaluate your commitments to family, church, job, plans, and tradition.
• Alter your actions regarding how you pray, give, and serve.
• Adjust your beliefs about God, His purposes, His ways, and your relationship to Him.

Believers must never interpret the truth of their circumstances from the middle of a trial without seeking God's perspective. Robert and Gail felt called to missions, but their plans were delayed by their son Richard's mysterious health problems. This led them to a small church in Canada that ultimately catalyzed the creation of Experiencing God and a ministry spanning 114 countries and 38 new churches started by the small church and its missions in Canada.

God cannot fully reveal His will independently without the counsel, testimony, and spiritual gifts of other members within the local church body. Henry Blackaby served as interim pastor of a Vancouver church with less than fifty in attendance where a Laotian refugee named Thomas joined. This led to fifteen adults led to Christ in his first week, eleven more in the second week, and one hundred thirty-three friends and family members who came to know the Lord when Thomas returned to Laos.

4. Obedience and Experiencing God's Power

Obedience is the moment of truth in experiencing God, determining your beliefs, whether you experience His power, and how intimately you know Him.

Choosing not to do what God commands is rebellion. Obedience is the natural outflow of a love relationship with God. If you have an obedience problem, you ultimately have a love problem. Obeying God brings profound spiritual benefits and a solid foundation during life's storms.

A college student in Henry Blackaby's church sensed God leading her to be baptized despite her atheist father's threats. When baptized, she was welcomed home with her packed suitcase on the front step.

Jonah fled his initial call, suffered through being thrown into a stormy sea, and was trapped inside a fish. After repenting, he was given a second chance to preach to Nineveh. Jonah spent three days inside a big fish. One hundred twenty thousand people were brought to repentance in Nineveh after Jonah's one-sentence message.

• Ask God to reveal any disobedience in your past.
• Agree with God by confessing your sin if He brings disobedience to mind.
• Surrender your life afresh to His lordship and commit to obeying no matter the cost.
• Obey what you already know to be God's will, such as the Ten Commandments, loving your enemies, spreading the gospel, and living in unity.
• Surrender everything to Christ's lordship and agree to obey no matter the cost.

The Cost of Obedience

Doing God's will can lead to misunderstanding, criticism, financial strain, and persecution for both the believer and their family members. However, believers should not use family responsibilities as an excuse to disobey God, because the heavenly Father can care for children better than anyone else.

Henry Blackaby moved his young family from a secure pastorate in California to a tiny, struggling congregation in Saskatoon, Canada. This placed heavy caregiving burdens on his wife Marilynn. Yet all five of their children and fourteen grandchildren grew up to love the Lord and serve in ministry. The Saskatoon church averaged forty in worship attendance after more than two years of hard work.

Waiting on the Lord is an active, prayerful state that develops absolute dependence on Him and ensures action happens in His timing. While waiting, believers must pray with passion, evaluate circumstances through God's perspective, consult other believers, and actively ask, seek, and knock while continuing to do the last thing God commanded.

• Stop fighting and know that God is God.
• Pray with a passion to know Him, His purposes, and His ways.
• Evaluate your circumstances and ask God for His perspective.
• Share with other believers to find out what God is saying to them.
• Continue doing the last thing God told you to do while you wait.

God Accomplishes His Work

God typically provides His affirmation and proof after a person obeys His call, not before. Believers often demand signs or proof before obeying, but God expects trust and action first. Once a person takes steps of faith, God reveals His handiwork and confirms His presence.

Moses had to obey and lead Israel out before God gave the sign that they would worship at the mountain. Peter had to step out of the boat before knowing he could walk on water.

When circumstances appear to close a door of opportunity, it does not automatically mean God's will was missed. It often means God is redirecting or preparing. People frequently conclude they made a mistake when initial plans go wrong. Instead of abandoning God's calling, believers should return to the Lord to clarify His exact directives and wait on His timing.

Paul and his companions were repeatedly prevented by the Holy Spirit from entering certain provinces until they received a vision directing them toward Macedonia.

• Clarify what God said, and identify what may have been your additions to what He said.
• Keep in place what God has said.
• Let Him work out the details in His timing.
• Do all you know to do.
• Wait on the Lord until He tells you what to do next.

Conclusion

These seven realities fit together into a cohesive lifestyle of daily dependence and radical obedience. You move from an intimate love relationship with God to watching where He is at work around you. When God invites you to join Him, you face a crisis of belief that requires major adjustments in your thinking and behavior. Your obedience connects you to God's ultimate activity and unleashes His power in your life.

1. Maintain an intimate love relationship with God above all religious labor.
2. Watch daily for where God is already at work around you.
3. Listen for God speaking through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church.
4. Expect God to invite you to join Him in His redemptive work.
5. Make the necessary adjustments in your life to follow His agenda.
6. Obey God immediately when He gives you an assignment.
7. Experience God working through you and know Him more deeply.

10 Key Ideas

1. True knowledge of God comes through firsthand experience and intimate relationship rather than abstract academic study.
2. Asking what is God's will for my life is a self-centered and inverted approach, whereas the correct inquiry is simply to align one's life with what God is already doing around them.
3. God is always actively working to bring about redemption and approaches individuals with His own pre-existing agenda to invite them where He is already operating.
4. God invites individuals to become involved with Him in His work through consistent practical realities rather than a rigid formula.
5. When invited to participate in God-sized tasks, you face a turning point requiring you to decide whether God is truly able to fulfill His promises through your faith and action.
6. Transitioning from human methods to God's agenda requires fundamental life adjustments in thinking, relationships, and commitments.
7. God communicates directly through the Bible by using the Holy Spirit to reveal spiritual truth, and through two-way fellowship in prayer that aligns human desires with His will.
8. Doing God's will can lead to misunderstanding, criticism, financial strain, and persecution, making obedience a costly act that proves a genuine love relationship with God.
9. God cannot fully reveal His will independently without the counsel, testimony, and spiritual gifts of other members within the local church body.
10. Maintaining a lifestyle of daily dependence and radical obedience allows you to experience God working through you and know Him more deeply.