Writers procrastinate all the time. I'm magnificent at it. The same holds true for us in our relationship with God. We want to have a real connection with our Creator. We have the best of intentions. We talk about it. Some of us even talk a lot at Him. It doesn't seem to work. He doesn't seem to be listening. Or we simply never find the time to be with God.
Just exactly how are we supposed to BE with someone we can't even see anyhow?
Since God is everywhere, there's no particular place to GO to be with Him, right? So can't we spend time with Him anywhere? And you've been trying to listen but getting no answers. I'm right there with you. I get it.
Looking at relationships around me, I see some are vibrant, touchy-feely, happy. They KNOW each other's likes and dislikes, habits and fears. Others are in their own little world clueless to details in the lives of those with whom they live or work. That's me plenty of the time.
One of the worst feelings in the world is when no one listens or cares. Right? That's God's dilemma. What? He doesn't have dilemmas, you say? He doesn't need us. He has everything. Wrong.
He is Love. All love wants to do is give and receive. That's the nature of Love. It keeps giving and giving in eternal hope of us choosing to love back in return.
The single greatest thing you can do to strengthen your relationship with God is to care. That's what turned the corner for me. I was curious about Him because others had such glowing things to say about Him. I wanted to know more about Him. I went to church every Sunday; studied His Word in bible study. One day, I started to do what you do when you care about others in your life:
* I became more interested in Him. What did He think or want?
* I talked to Him about little things. "Hey! I could use Your help here."
* I LISTENED. Just listened. As long as I was talking, I wasn't learning anything new. Besides, I remembered He knows everything, so what need was there to tell Him what was in my heart. So I shut up and started listening. That was brilliant. I'm sure He had something to do with it.
In a foreign country, we understand little of any conversations around us at first. We get lost and hungry but can't read the signs or the menus. We hear directions but do not understand. We jabber in our own language and get nowhere.
The discipline of listening in silence to His still, small voice brought me to my goal of being closer to God. I didn't hear with my ears, but I began to understand some things. You might find something new by trying it. Go somewhere quiet and let God lead you by giving Him one of your most prized possessions. For most of us, it's our time or our heart.
It's scary because you are attempting to release control for a few moments. Do the thing you fear to do and that's the death of fear, a friend once taught me. (Thank you, Mary Kay Slowkowski.) It's counterintuitive. I've found a lot about God to be counterintuitive. I have to give to receive. To live, I must die. When I sin or ignore Him, He forgives me. It goes against what I think I know. I kinda like counterintuitive stuff. It's like an adventure in discovery.
Black holes in space contract inwardly. That's what happens when we focus too long on our needs and wants. Light - and Love - expand. It is their very nature.
I waited like a bird before dawn. My cares turned toward the Other. Watching and listening, the eyes and ears of my heart opened. Try it. You'll see.
Start by caring. About Him. It's all any of us wants. Somebody who cares. It's the crack that lets in the light. It's the greatest thing you can do.
Here in the south, when I ask where something is in a grocery store, I hear this: "It's in Aisle 3. I'll take you there. Please follow me." I push my cart after him.
Behold, I make all things new. Revelation 21:5.
#procrastination #timeforGod #writers #knowGod #GetToKnowGod #SingleGreatestThingToDoForGod #chrismanion #MaryKaySlowkowski #Caring
