Some people sincerely would like to do what God wants them to do, His Will. But they keep asking, "How do I know what God wants?" These same folks are busy every minute of their lives and they have an enormous lot of media noise in their lives. Their hearts are in the right place but they're crowding God out.
God is not going to - beep! - send us a text message. God's not going to flash an e-mail - junkbox! God won't knock on our front doors nor will he stamp a letter and send by Post Office, First Class. You won't see a 30-second ad on TV, "God Says. . ." We won't get a courtesy telephone call reminding us that "God will call at 9 a.m. tomorrow, thank you."
God usually speaks to us in the silence of our hearts. Sometimes he speaks and we hear the words. Saints report that God appears to them with important messages. But at all these times, the person is quietly praying.
Most of us agree that God wants what is best for us in everything. Problem is, sometimes what we want is not best for us. Then we might get mad and think, "God never answers my prayers!"
Sometimes, in times of transitions, we ask God for direction in our lives. We quietly and earnestly pray, "What should I do now, God?" "Where should I go?" And we think God is not listening because we don't get an immediate answer. God is beyond time. GOD CREATED TIME. This is impossible for us to imagine. The Truth is, God had the answer for us before he even created us. God knows what is best for us. He knows that at times we need to be patient and wait for an answer to our prayers.
A personal testimony: In the year, 2000, my youngest daughter #8, Jeannie, and I, moved to the large city of Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.A. from the small town of Danville, Kentucky. There I had enjoyed an extremely active life, being a part of church, school, and community groups. I thought I would naturally do the same here.
But I desired to know where to start, in which direction God wanted me to head - church? school? community? So I prayed. I listened, for months. I knew God would let me know when the time was right. I enjoyed a break, visiting local family, unpacking in the new house. Almost a year letter, I received a surprise answer in my heart: "Play with your grandchildren." So I did!
Several years later, Jeannie and I joined the Women's Guild at church, my first venture into a local 'group.' It was so fun! We'll never forget those years. Meanwhile, daughter #7, Marie, came to live with us and we had an even more interesting life! (Lucy, the crabby cat, had already been with us for years, adding to the household activity!)
What prompted these Sunday Thoughts today? Yesterday I participated in an all-day Women's Silent Retreat. Since I've been in this transition for months, learning to live by myself after having family (and cat) part of my life my whole life, I needed some really quiet time to just consider how I should proceed, what God thought was best. Having retired exactly one year ago, I want to make good use of my time and life. This was the perfect opportunity, so I registered promptly after I saw the ad in our church bulletin.
There was a group of approximately 25 women from churches in Lexington and the surrounding counties, plus the Retreat leaders. After the retreat began, we didn't talk to each other ALL DAY, even during lunch. The day was structured with talks by the leaders, prayer time, and time just to wander about the spacious grounds, enjoy the warmth of the sun, the beauty of the flowers, trees, and grass, meditate on what was said in the talks, time to talk with God but most especially, TIME TO LISTEN.
When our day was over, I told my BFF on the way to our cars, "This was better than a Vitamin B-12 shot!" I felt spiritually energized!
Lord God in Heaven and in my heart, thank You for the the perfect day, the beautiful experience of the Retreat yesterday, for the prayer time, for the new thoughts, for the leaders of the retreat who worked hard to give us a wonderful day! Help all of your women and men have the experience of communicating with You, talking with You and listening to You!
This thought from one of the speakers yesterday will be with me always: "Where God is, is Love. Where Love is, is God."
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