Skipping to the Good Part

Do I pick the sweetest option?

This morning I read how Jeremiah prophesied, but no one wanted to listen. His message was too negative – exiled to Babylon for 70 years?! Jeremiah warned that God was greatly disappointed, hurt and angry that His people would worship other gods. If only they would repent and come back to Him, things could turn out much differently. But, they wanted to keep doing things their own way. And they chose to believe the (false) prophets who said that Israel would break the yoke of Babylon and be restored within two years.

Do I do that? Do I believe what I want to believe instead of making the extra effort to discern the truth? Do I ask advice and choose the option that seems sweetest to me? Or am I willing to go with my gut and do the hard thing, if necessary?

I continued reading the book of Jeremiah and came to the familiar verse we all love to quote: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11)

It’s interesting how we skip to the good part, wanting to believe this scripture is a word for us. It can be... but realize that God spoke that word to tell His people He still loved them, even though He would have to discipline them. He gave them hope, promising it would all be good in the long run. He would restore them after 70 years of exile – a long period of discipline. The next two verses are essential: “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29:12-13).

Yes, God does have good planned for us, but it may first require some discipline on our parts. If we do what is right, then He can do what He longs to do in our lives. We can’t just keep doing things our own way and waiting for everything to fall into place because God has plans to prosper us. We need to be calling on Him, praying to Him, wholeheartedly seeking Him. We need to be listening to Him and doing what He has told us.

I admit I sometimes lack discipline. I could be exercising more self control at times. I want to be doing what He has already told me, things I already know I should be doing. Whether it is controlling my tongue, my tone or my portion size, wisely using my talents, or jumping in and doing something I have been procrastinating about, there are certainly ways I could practice more discipline.

God has good plans. He sees our future, our potential, and He is longing to bring it about.

 Are we willing to do the hard thing? Will we put in the required discipline?

Dear God, I want to do my part so that you can do all that you want to do. Tune my ears to the truth, even when it is not as positive as what I might like to hear. Help me to be disciplined in doing the things you’ve already made clear to me.

Pausing to Listen

Don't we all long to hear God and know that we are following where He leads?

I attended a wonderful workshop at the AACC conference recently on Learning to Hear God: You Can't Give Well What You Don't Do Well. Presenter Sharon Tilley, PhD, shared her hunger for God and how, with much study, prayer and practice, she has learned to better hear His voice. She says (and I wholeheartedly agree):

"I have found Him to be always speaking, and that I can hear what He is saying to me more and more as I am willing and able to tune in to what HE would like to say, following HIS lead rather than asking Him to follow mine." 

How wonderful it is that we have a God who seeks relationship with us and expresses His love each day in so many ways, if only we would see it. Taking time to still ourselves and look to Him is more important than anything else we could do with our day, but why is it we so often rush and cram all we can into a single day?

This point was illustrated to me so effectively, and in a humorous way. Several times as I was waiting in the long lines for the restroom at the conference, I would see women at the sink trying to get soap out of the automatic dispenser. I'd watch as one would swish her hand quickly under the dispenser and remove it before the dispenser had a chance to dispense. She'd move to the next sink and swish quickly -- and even the next sink -- and still no soap! Then she'd express her frustration at why these things never work for her. I was amused as I watched this happen again and again, each and every time I visited the restroom. 

When I had my turn at the sink, I'd hold my hand under the dispenser and deliberately pause -- longer than I may have wanted to. Sploosh! The soap would land in my hand. I smiled each time and thought how impatient of a culture we have become. We are conditioned to want immediate, instant and automatic!

Unfortunately, I think we often approach God the same way. If He doesn't answer instantly when we pray, we think He isn't answering. We may even rush on ahead of Him, picking the answer we think is best.

With this goofy illustration in mind, I have challenged myself to remember to carefully PAUSE at regular intervals and listen for God's voice throughout my day.

I would like to challenge you, too! Each time you wash your hands, may you remember that God speaks freely when we pause long enough to listen.

Lord, I love the way you lead me. Forgive my impatience and my sometimes hurried ways. Quiet me and still me so that I may receive your wisdom and direction throughout my day and for all my days. 

Wisdom Over Worldly Things

It was a beautiful song, now that I'd finally been able to listen to all the words.

Before this, I'd heard only fragments of the lyrics, and I had no idea how it would move me.

The same way, God is speaking to us through many sources, but we may hear only fragments at a time. He may use an inspirational  reading, a stimulating conversation, a perplexing problem or a story in the news...

Then in the quiet, we begin to process and put the pieces together.

Some of it begins to make sense, other things remain a mystery, for now. God shapes our perspective to give us a higher thinking; wisdom over worldly things. Instead of going with the flow of the world around us, our thinking begins to rise above, our perspective takes on a new capacity. We begin to realize things we can do.

The world groans for Godly solutions. Poverty, disease and oppression in the wider world view; as well as misguided pursuits, loneliness and suffering near to us, too.

God has given us what we need to reduce or solve many of these problems. He has given us resources and talents that match the gaps around us. Best of all, God has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us. The Holy Spirit molds and shapes our hearts, and ignites the passions within us. He gives us the courage, the confidence and the cause!

As author Max Lucado says, "There are 145 million orphans worldwide and there are 236 million people in the U.S. that call themselves Christians. From a purely statistical standpoint, American Christians have the wherewithal to house every orphan in the world.

But I am only one person, I think. How can I solve the world's problems? I can't do it all, but I can do something. Why do these injustices remain when there are Christians with big hearts and amazing talents spread all over the earth?

Is it because we lack the quiet times? Maybe we are so busy in our own worlds doing what we think needs to be done, that we don't take enough time to listen for God's voice, to process what He is saying, to let Him fully equip us for what really needs to be done. We want to hear Him. But we often let our good intentions be drowned out by other distractions, all to settle for a lesser satisfaction. (You know, settling for what's good instead of what's best.)

If we miss the quiet, we may miss the wisdom of how the pieces fit together. We may miss out on being a part of the solution. We may miss the lyrics of the beautiful song that could be sung.

Dear Lord, help us to tune our ears to you so we can reach that higher perspective. My heart longs for solutions for hurting people. I will work to preserve that special quiet time with you. I will do what I know now, focus on listening, and trust you for each next step.

Proverbs 8:34 [Wisdom calls...] Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.

Do you have enough quiet in your life to put together the fragments of what God is telling you? How do you preserve that quiet?

Beside Restful Waters

From the moment we entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we meandered next to sparkling streams. Surrounded by seas of green budding trees and tiny forest flowers, it was immediately refreshing. The water's edge beckoned, so with cameras and a picnic lunch in hand, my husband and I found a flat rock to relax on. It was near another large rock in the stream that looked like a crouching cat (do you see him?).

I felt the sun on my back and the tickle of the breeze as I watched the water gently weave its way through everything in its path. I felt free as I listened to the whooshing of the current flowing over the rocks, and it seemed to wash my cares away.

I knew what David was describing in Psalm 23 when he said the Lord leads us beside restful waters and restores our souls. What a blessing to be able to take a vacation! We had our own little soul-restoration project going on in the mountains of Tennessee.

It reminded me of how important it is to take time to just be still. Our lives are busy and full and we are energized by so many things. But we can't be filling our calendars with 90 million things to do and then praying for peace! God gives us the wisdom to choose where to best spend our time, if we ask Him. And, I think the best way to hear His answers is to preserve a little quiet in each day ... when my mouth is closed and my ears and my heart are open.

We enjoyed a week of listening to the babbling brooks, the whispering trees and the melodious harmony of a myriad of songbirds we weren't accustomed to hearing. We were captivated by lush green pastures with abundant wildlife grazing contentedly. It was a little taste of heaven and my soul was at perfect peace.

On the last night of the trip, we reminisced about the beauty we had taken in, and all the peace and tranquility we had enjoyed. "God is so good," we agreed. It felt like I didn't have a care in the world and the whole universe was in order.

After all, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.