Waiting For The Two By Four

  I’ve been reading a new book which involves several weekly assignments.  I was talking with a friend about extending the time frame for the exercises.  During the conversation I suddenly realized something I hadn’t expected.  What I thought was simply a personal project had suddenly become something much bigger— a calling.

The moment I recognized it, my heart leapt. Excitement filled my soul.  I never saw it coming.  But isn’t that just like God?  He quietly whispers, “I have something for you to do.  Are you listening?’

HIT ME WITH A TWO BY FOUR

Listening is hard.  It’s hard for children, hard for adults who are going through hard times, and it’s even hard for believers to listen…especially to God!  We seem so uncertain about His voice.  We feel like we need to be ‘hit over the head with a two by four’!  In fact I’ve actually asked for his guidance just like that from time to time, because I was frustrated with feeling like I wasn’t hearing.

WHAT DOES GOD WANT FROM ME?

We want desperately to do what God wants, but we aren’t at all sure we know! Often I’ve felt like Samuel when God called his name and he ran to Eli, thinking it was his call he was hearing.  Eli finally realized what was happening and instructed Samuel how to respond.  It wasn’t about Samuel having an extraordinary sense of hearing, —but rather was about Samuel learning to recognize the voice of the One who was calling him.

HEARING GOD’S VOICE

As we continue to read and search scripture and learn more about God’s character we come more familiar with God’s voice.  Listening and ‘hearing’ isn’t something reserved for mature believers.  It’s a discipline that’s developed over time as we draw nearer to our Creator.  Samuel was young, but God had something important for him to do. 

He wants us to hear Him.  It’s the part of ‘relationship’ that is as important to Him as it is to us.  But it’s equally important that we recognize who God is and stand in awe of His power.  And Jesus reminds us, His sheep know His voice because they know their Shepherd through relationship.

IS IT ME OR IS IT GOD?

We want assurance that what we think we hear isn’t our own desires, emotions, or even fears which can scream loudly or makes us wonder, ‘Is this really God speaking’?  If it’s something we’re afraid of, we struggle with, ‘can I even do what I’m thinking’.  Other times we become concerned with ‘Is this something I want and that’s why I think God’s telling me to go with it?  Or even an overwhelming sense of intuition that you are doing the right thing….  and it may totally be God….  but what if it’s an emotional response to what you want to have happen?

GOD IS FAITHFUL

God’s character is faithful.  So when I wonder if it’s God speaking, I’ve learned to ask myself, ‘Does what I’m sensing agree with His character and His Word?’  That question has become an anchor for me. 

Sometimes God’s voice comes as a persistent thought that refuses to be shaken, or a scripture that keeps showing up.  Sometimes He shows up a conversation that is almost to coincidental, a door opening…or closing and sometimes a gentle nudge from His Spirit.  And yes…sometimes it’s like a bolt of lightning.  

LISTENING….AND HEARING!

Today, God totally showed up in an unplanned conversation combined with an ‘oh my goodness’ bolt of lightning that left me feeling electric!

I've learned that hearing God isn't always about waiting for a dramatic sign. More often, it's about walking closely enough with Him that His voice becomes familiar. The closer we draw to Him through His Word, prayer, and obedience, the easier it becomes to recognize the Shepherd's voice when He calls.

       And when He does...there is nothing more exciting than discovering He has been speaking all along.  Today’s truth wasn’t a coincidence. It was one of those moments when I could almost hear God whisper, “Did you notice Me?”

Photo Credit: Listening For God's Voice 

God Is Good ---Even When Life Isn't

 

  The very idea that it’s easy to praise God when life is good sounds kind of trite to me.  Yes, it’s easy to be happy and project joy when medical bills are paid and health is restored, when our marriage is strong and happy, when finances are in a good place and the future looks like we’re conquering the world, with all the right decisions.

WHEN THINGS FALL APART

But what happens when our health fails and medical bills mount up so that our finances are stretched so thin it looks like a pin stuck in sheer plastic would burst it to pieces; or you lose a spouse and the future is uncertain?

I was talking with a close friend recently who has come upon ‘hard times’. The couple has strong faith and believes ultimately God has a plan, but so far they haven’t been able to decipher just what it is.  It has them seeking advice, doing serious praying, looking for alternatives, and hoping things will turn around.

STRUGGLING TO SEE THE PLAN

I admire their faith and would like to think I have that same level of faith.  Some days I do, and others I’m not so sure about.  There are days when I struggle to see ‘the plan.’  Most of the time I have to say audibly, ‘Lord, I know you have a plan…and I’m counting on that.  But for the moment I’m not seeing it.’   I know my heart believes that, but my head sometimes disagrees!  And thankfully I don’t usually fall into a ‘dark place’ and the feeling will pass.

But there are times when it’s hard to see the positive when life falls apart.  I’m working hard to finish the home Charles and I started before he passed, in a state far from where we lived.  It was our dream and now that dream looks entirely different than it did before.

On top of this is the home we were living in—and I still do, mostly.  It needs to be maintained and looked after, as well.  And my ‘journey’ doesn’t just affect me; it affects my children as well, even though they are adults.  It’s a balancing act trying to keep everyone happy and on the same page. There are opinions, questions, advice and suggestions from so many different angles.  It becomes complicated with no easy answers for anyone, —especially me.

FEELING LOST

I wonder though if sometimes I’m not making God’s ‘goodness’ conditional, even if it’s not on purpose. I step beyond the ‘I know God has a plan and I know God is good.’  When things go so sideways and I’m feeling lost, I hear myself whisper, ‘Lord, I need answers!  I don’t understand!  The outcome of this part scares me silly!  Some of this just doesn’t make sense!”  —and all I can do is cry and try to pull myself out of the pit of despair in which I am falling.

I don’t like the idea that I may be putting conditions on God’s goodness.  But neither can I pretend things are okay.  There are days when I have a ‘meltdown’—that pit of despair which is slippery and ultimately a dark place.   In fact that happened recently, even while traveling.  One particular day all I could do was cry.  I could not keep composure, and it didn’t seem to matter who I was talking with.  Everything made me sad and I cried.

KEEPING THE FAITH

The meltdown passed and I recognize that faith isn’t believing that everything will turn out just the way I want…. Faith is believing God is still God.  God is still good.  God is still with me.  And…God is still working—-even when I cannot see the how!

It doesn’t have to make sense.  I’ll likely still have a meltdown every now and again, but I can still believe in a God who uses everything for His purpose, even if what’s happening doesn’t look good to me!  

Even when I can’t figure out His plan, I know God will remain faithful whether or not the answer comes in the form I expect. This brings me full circle to realizing that praise isn’t about pretending life is good.  Praise is declaring God is good ---even when life isn’t.