Seeking

…”Speak Lord for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:9
  
When I was growing up, if I would misplace something and say, “I can’t find it!” my dad would always say, “I’m sure it will be in the last place you look.”  He was right…it always was but as a kid that line really bugged me!  I
think it probably bugged me because what I would have rather heard him say was, “I’ll help you find it.” That simple statement of the obvious and the reality that I was on my own was his very simple way of letting me know I was responsible.  If I wanted that missing object badly enough I had to invest the thought, energy and action into finding what I was looking for.
 
I heard someone say a couple weeks ago, “God just never listens to me!”  I’m sure we’ve all felt that way a time or two when things got bumpy but the question that should always follow that statement is , “How well do I listen to God?”  As Christians we can be assured of God’s presence in our lives but sometimes we have to do what my dad always pushed me to do and take responsibility for finding His loving presence in our lives. God speaks to us, but it’s not a bold, booming deep voice from the clouds.  God speaks to us daily if we’re seeking and listening.  There are four ways He makes us aware of his presence, His voice, and His will.

The first place God speaks to us is through Scripture.  Once while I was in the middle of a struggle, I tried a dozen things on my own to make it better and finally after no improvement I did what I should have done first and gone to God’s word for strength, comfort and counsel.   When I did finally ask God to speak to my heart, I landed in James and these were the words I read; Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. I heard that loud and clear!

The second way God speaks to us is through circumstances.  Sometimes we call them coincidences, but God deserves the credit for those things, not fate.  God so loves each of us, He arranges and organizes events and circumstances all the time just to show us how much He loves us and cares for us. Keep your eye out for them!

The third way is through people.  Sometimes the right person with just the right word comes along at just right time and it seems to change everything.  That’s God, speaking through others.   A lady shared a story just recently about being in the hospital and as she was being prepped for surgery a nurse walked in to assist and they just “out of nowhere” started talking about trusting God and feeling His peace.  She said it completely removed her fear and she rolled down the hall with an amazing sense of calmness and confidence.

The fourth way God speaks to us is through prayer.  My husband and I can’t raise our children together if we don’t talk.  I can’t teach a room full of middle lovelies  if we don’t talk.  I think we understand that we would stumble around in such chaos and frustration if we didn’t communicate with each other.  Prayer is our communication with God.  It’s the most important conversation we have each day but yet it’s the one that sometimes gets pushed to the side when we get busy or frazzled.  The biggest mistake we make is to think we don’t have time to pray.  That would be like trying to drive somewhere and being too busy to put gas in the car. 
 
If you feel like something’s missing in your life seek the giver of all good things.  He will be the last place you look and now you have four choices.
 
A Seed To Plant:  Pick one of the four and start seeking Him.  I’m willing to bet the more you seek Him in these four places, the more you’ll find Him.

 Blessings on your day!