After a worship service years ago, one of my children said, “Everyone else feels God but me. Maybe I don’t really know him.” “Or,” I suggested, “maybe knowing God isn’t about a feeling.”

In our experience-addicted age, we tend to assume that intimacy with God is evidenced in our emotions. So we sigh observing souls who seem to experience God with ease: They feel God, hear God, and sense God. “Perhaps I’m just not wired for it,” we lament.

I have good news for those who feel little

and potentially challenging news for those who feel a lot:

Intimacy with God is not a feeling.

April’s theme (in my monthly letter and blogs) is Sustainable Spirituality. In a literal sense, your “sustainable spirituality” is a given. (1) God breathed. (2) You were conceived. (3) You are spiritual by nature and your spirit will be sustained throughout your life.

Beyond its literal sense, however, the phrase speaks to the deep longing of Jesus-followers to be continually conscience of and responsive to God.

In our depths, we are not satisfied merely visiting Jesus in the mornings or singing praises to Him on Sundays or receiving revelation at retreats. Our spirits ache to discover what Jesus meant by “abide.” We want our connection with God (i.e., our spirituality) to be continuous (i.e., sustained).

Well, it already is. Our first giant step forward toward the fulfillment of this longing is accepting the reality that we are already continuously connected to God through Jesus’ sacrifice. When we placed faith in Jesus, He took up residence in our spirit. Paul refers to the mystery as, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

So the challenge is not finding the right environment or right words or right music…that will convince God to “show up.” The challenge is retraining our wills and minds to be attentive to His pre-existing presence.

This is the unguarded “secret” of ancient and modern saints. This is the truth that propelled Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach and Jeanne Guyon and Teresa of Avila…to practice the presence of God.

So this week, instead of placing your hope for intimacy with God in the next fabulous event you will attend (and probably should still attend), seek to daily delight your mind in this profound mystery: Jesus is continuously with you.