When I Found God

When I Found God

How God Met Me at the Kitchen Table

By Joey Raines

Description:

This true story follows my search for God and the moment everything changed. What began as a simple decision to read the Bible turned into a life-altering encounter with the presence of God. If you’ve ever felt distant, uncertain, or hungry for something more, this testimony might speak to you right where you are.

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When I Found God:

I have always been with God, but I had not truly found Him. For years, I had been searching without even knowing it, going through life with questions that lingered and a deep longing I could never quite explain. I thought I felt Him sometimes, in quiet moments or during prayer, but it was never as strong or as close as I believed it had been before this day. Looking back, I know He was there all along. Still, something in me remained restless, as if I were reaching for a door I could not see. The longing stayed with me, gentle but persistent, like a hunger that never truly went away.

Then I found myself at my sister Donna’s house, where she lived with her husband Kenny. Kenny carried his Bible everywhere and talked about God the way other people talked about the weather, naturally, without hesitation or apology. Donna had changed, too. She had been a smoker since she was a teenager, maybe even earlier, always with a cigarette between her fingers. But one day, she simply walked downstairs and told Kenny she was done. Just like that. Kenny said he had prayed for God to take the smoking away from her, and somehow, it was gone. She never touched another cigarette again.

I watched the change take place in my sister. There was something different in her eyes, peace where there used to be tension, light where there had been weariness. It was quiet, but undeniable. And as I saw it, I felt something move in me, too. A stirring, a sense that maybe change was possible for me as well. Maybe I could get closer to God.

One night, while staying over at their house, something in me shifted. I made a quiet decision, one that felt more serious than anything I had ever done before. I was going to find God, not just reach for Him in the distance like I had in the past, but truly seek Him with everything in me. I did not want a vague feeling or a passing moment. I wanted something real, something complete. I told Donna and Kenny that night, with all the sincerity I had, that I wanted to read the Bible.

"Start with John chapter one," Kenny said, setting his Bible in front of me on the kitchen table. He said it calmly and confidently, like he had told other people it before and meant every word of it. "That should have been the first book. It talks about the Word. It talks about the beginning." I looked down at the open pages, not fully understanding what I was about to read, but knowing it mattered. Kenny did not try to explain everything. He just gave me a place to start.

Kenny opened it to the correct page and showed me where to start reading, taking my time with every word. The first few verses talked about the Word being with God and the Word being God. I had read that before, but this time something was different. When I reached the end of chapter one, it hit me, Jesus was the Word. I had never seen it so clearly. Sitting there at the kitchen table, I finally understood what those ancient words were trying to say.

I kept going. I read chapter two, then chapter three, and with each verse, something kept opening inside me. The words felt new, even though they had always been there. They spoke straight into the questions I had been carrying for years. They were no longer just scripture on a page. They were alive, and they were speaking to me.

When I finished chapter three, something happened.

The Holy Spirit filled me. I felt His presence as clearly as I felt the chair under me and the Bible resting in my hands. It was not a feeling I had to question. It was strong, complete, and real. His presence moved through me like warm light, steady and true. In that moment, I became someone new. The searching stopped. The questions that had followed me for years were not answered with words or explanations. They were answered by Him.

I sat in their kitchen, still holding Kenny’s Bible, knowing deep in my spirit that everything had changed. I was not the same person who had walked into that house. I had come in searching. I was now found. God had not just waited for me. He had reached for me.

That night changed my life. After all those years of reaching, wondering, and walking through silence, He had been there. He was waiting in three simple chapters. Waiting for the moment I would finally listen.

I did not hear a loud voice or see anything miraculous, but I knew something real had happened. God met me at that kitchen table. He came when I opened His Word and invited Him in. He had always been there, but now I finally saw Him for who He was.

I did not leave with every question answered, but I left with something greater. I left with Him. The weight I had carried for years was gone. The searching that had worn me down had come to an end. I had found what I was looking for, and He had been waiting the whole time.

Now I move forward with a different heart. Not because I know everything, but because I know the One who never left me. I opened a Bible, and God opened my eyes. Nothing has been the same since.

That moment in the kitchen marked the beginning of something new in my life. I was not the same after that night, and I have never wanted to go back to who I was before it. God met me in the middle of my searching, and He made Himself known. If you have ever felt lost or unsure of where to begin, open His Word. You might find that He has been waiting for you, too.

Thank you for reading. If this story meant something to you, inspired you, made you think, or just kept you reading, I’d be honored if you’d tap the ❤️ to show some love, hit subscribe to follow me for more, and if you feel like it, you can leave a tip, totally optional, but always appreciated.

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