Thursday, February 10, 2005

Listening to God

This has been one of those really up-and-down weeks. I've had days where I feel very aware of God's presence and filled with joy in what He's doing in my life. I've also had days where I question the direction of my life and wonder why I'm not somewhere else doing something else, something that I deem more "meaningful". My job in particular has been demanding and stressful, and I've wondered several times whether I'm adequate to do this job and why I'm there at all.

My head knows that God has a plan and purpose for my life, but sometimes my heart has a hard time buying that. Especially when my vision for my life doesn't match up with what He envisions.

Last night at church our class talked about the importance of listening to God. It's an aspect of communication that I so often fail to do with Him. Lately I've had a lot of questions about my life, about the direction of my career and of my life, and yet I've been too impatient to wait for God's response.

This morning during my prayer time, I asked God to speak to me, and to shut my mouth and open my eyes and ears to what He had to say. To say that He responded quickly is an understatement. I was overwhelmed at how "vocal" God seemed to me today.

Part of my morning Bible study was from Psalm 32: "The Lord says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.' " (vs. 8-9, NLT)

As if I needed further confirmation of God planning out my life, I also read my sister's blog about her struggles to understand and follow God's plan for her life, particularly in her own career. Through it, God reminded me that He does know what's best for each of our lives, even when it seems like He's unaware.

On my way to work I heard a message by Charles Stanley about having hope in the midst of storms. When I got to work, my daily e-mail devotional was about God not wasting anything, good or bad, that's happened in my life. On and on God continued to speak to me through other people, through music, through His Word.

How much I would have missed if I'd simply given my prayer requests like a diner placing an order in a restaurant, without waiting in anticipation of God responding. O God, teach me the art of listening to You expectantly, patiently, humbly.





1 comment:

stevepvc said...

I kind of think the story of the transfiguration in mark 9 is kind of like God wanted to tell Peter, James and John something, so in order to do that he did his own version of a fireworks show to get thei attention, then he tells them what he wants them to hear. the message he gives at the end is so simple: This is my son, Listen to Him!