Monday, February 18, 2008
What if your girlfriend/boyfriend does not contact you (ie no calls, emails or smses) and does not seem to listen to you? He/she only looks for you when he/she wants something from you. What kind of a relationship is that?
Relationships thrive on communication and a lack of it often results in the breakdown of relationships. This I believe does not apply to just romantic ones but to all relationships in general - even a relationship with God, our heavenly Father and Creator.
Prayer is a form of comunication and even if it may not feel like this, it is actually 2-way. While you are presenting your requests to God, do try and listen for His voice, that still, small voice. Despite being big, strong and mighty, God does not impose His opinions on us by using a booming voice to make Himself heard (unlike one petite-sized person i know...). Hence, to hear Him we will need to really quieten ourselves and even turn the volume of the world down. If all we are doing is shouting our troubles to God and drown ourselves in the ways of the world, its little wonder that many of us do not really know God - because He hasn't really had the chance to make Himself known to us!
When I pray, one of the most common requests would be to ask God to reveal His will to me,in other words, what His plan for me is. Sounds ok? I guess, but in actual fact, like other prayers in which I pray that God will grant me good grades/weather/boyfriend, I am asking for a gift. I treat Him like some Santa Claus, only of a more supernatural level. I have realized that I am kinda approaching my relationship with Him all wrong. Back to the analogy of a BGR, how would you like it if your other half was only interested in what you had to offer than who you are?
People like to use the verse "'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 hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. However when life fails to adhere to that, like 9/11 or the 2006 tsunami, can we still believe and trust in a God who said that? Will you like Job, choose to trust in God, despite having your world crash down on you? Philip Yancey writes in "The Bible Jesus read", that God through Job, shows us that He cares more about our faith than our pleasure. Unknown to him, Job was part of a 'bet' between God and Satan, in which God 'betted' His reputation on Job, allowing Satan to invade Job's life but believing that Job's faith would not waver regardless. At the same point in which Job thought that God had totally forsaken him, God was actually very aware of his circumstances.
Don't trust in God simply because of what He has promised or what He has done for you, but because of who He is. Instead of seeking directions, seek Him and then He will reveal His plans.
Jeremiah 33:3 - “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
Thanks to all the blogs i referred to (countless) for html code help :) (esp. cyn' and sixseven)
Adobe Photoshop Elements for supernatural abilities