Because I like to save money where I can, I often find myself shopping at dollar stores. These stores provide “off brands” that are less expensive that the “name brands.”

Unfortunately, some believers in Jesus display a dollar store spiritual life. They settle for something less than a real and vibrant walk with Him. They settle for being believers without being disciples. Emotional highs become substitutes for a consistent devotional life. Business replaces holiness. Legalistic structure replaces spiritual transformation. Good ideas that we can develop on our own replace God’s ideas discovered only through committing to a season of prayer and seeking God.

Consider the words of the Lord through His prophet Amos:

For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live; 
but do not seek Bethel, 
and do not enter into Gilgal 
or cross over to Beersheba; 
for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, 
and Bethel shall come to nothing.” – Amos 5:4-5

The pagan shrines at Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba amounted to dollar store substitutes for God. God’s people felt the temptation to find satisfaction by fitting in with their contemporaries. God challenged them to trade their substitutes for a real relationship with Him – seek ME, He said.

So where do we find God? First, we find Him in the pages of His Word. God’s Word is His revelation of Himself, His will, and His plan for our lives. There is no substitute for the systematic regular reading and study of the Bible. Every relationship depends on conversation, and God’s Word is His conversation to us.

Second, we find God in the quiet place of prayer and solitude. Even Jesus recognized the need to get away from the activity and the crowds to get alone with His heavenly father. If it was that important to Jesus, how much more vital is prayer and solitude to us? In 1 Kings 19:11-12, when Elijah needed to hear from God, he found God not screaming in a strong wind, earthquake, or fire, but in the low whisper of a still small voice. We can only hear the whispers of God when we quiet ourselves in His presence.

Additionally, we find God in the every day events of our lives. God is at work around us, and we can see His hand if we look for Him. We find God when we serve Him by serving others. Jesus reminds us that in feeding the poor, clothing the naked, giving water to the thirsty, and visiting the afflicted, we also serve Him.(Matthew 25:31-40)

So what are you substituting for the real thing? Why settle for dollar store bargains when you can enjoy a daily, vital relationship with the One who is of inestimable worth? Why settle for a cheap imitation when the real thing is yours . . . for free?