Not always an "ah-ha" moment

Honestly, there are times in this world when I feel like I am talking and I don't think anyone is even listening - not a human, not an animal, and not even God. There have been times as a mom when I was saying something to two very blank faces staring back at me in what many would call their looking at you, but we don't hear a word you say kind of face!  There have also been moments when I have tried to just engage someone in conversation, only to find they have never been listening to a word I said because their answer is so totally different than the question I asked! I chuckle now at some of the things mom answered when she heard something so totally different than what I ever said or asked, just because she was hard of hearing and in the early stages of dementia. We've probably all been in this situation at least once where we find ourselves chuckling over what we thought we heard, but it was totally different than what was spoken! Thank goodness God is really listening when we want to speak with him, but I wonder how much of what we 'think' we hear from God is 'made up' because we aren't really listening as intently as we should be?

God's there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it. He does what's best for those who fear him—hears them call out, and saves them. (Psalm 145:18-19)

God truly hears each word we speak - even those not really spoken out loud, but being shot up to him in silent "help, I need you!" moments!  It is beyond my brain's comprehension to understand how God could possibly be listening to all of us at the same time, but one thing is for sure - if he could create you and I out of mere dust, I am pretty convinced he could (and does) listen to more than one person at a time! Some may think of prayer as those moments of "devout", on your knees, head bowed, hands interlocked moments with God when you pour out your heart to him. The truth is, prayer is really an attitude of heart and mind. In fact, it is often better translated as "communion" - the interchange or sharing which occurs because there is connection. The thing we may need to hear most today is God is listening for all who engage in this type of interchange - who make connection with him.

As a kid, I certainly had a curious mind. I'd poke sticks in holes, not knowing what dwelt in the recesses. Once I was rewarded with a gila monster attached to the end of a stick, jaw firmly clamped down on this menacing object that had invaded its home. That one discovery set me running because it wasn't what I expected. I am honestly not sure what I expected when I stuck my stick into hole after hole, but a big old lizard capable of delivering one mean bite didn't even occur to me! There were a whole lot of times when I'd walk away with disappointment because nothing stirred, nothing bit on the stick, and my efforts just didn't yield a thing! You don't honestly expect the bad stuff to get stirred up when you pray, but have you ever experienced that? You kind of 'poke a stick' in a 'hole' somewhere in your life or relationships, and then when something emerges that seems a little threatening to your usual way of life, you run!

We miss "connection" with God because we never take the time to explore the recesses of his counsel (his Word), or the intensity of his power. We just 'dabble' in prayer - we don't really ask so as to listen, nor do we listen so as to hear. We may think he is too busy to listen to our "little" issues - but he is THERE -- listening! Not just THERE -- but listening attentively, ready to respond to us. There is benefit to the "devout" times of "knee prayer" - but don't discount the times of just sharing your heart "on the fly". God doesn't have a "deaf ear" to turn regardless of the length or 'depth' of our prayer! There are times with God when I am simply "poking around" to see what I will uncover. These have been some of the greatest times I have had in connection with him. I may not get a 'wow' or even a 'ah-ha' reward each time I speak with him, but I get something from each moment I spend just exploring God and his intense love! This is connection - this is communication. It is two - sharing from the heart - just listening to each other. Don't count on the excitement of the moment to ignite you each time, but know their exists something exactly for the moment when you need it the most! Just sayin!

Make room for discovery

"Anyone, without exception, can know God if they really want to simply by praying, by honestly telling Him that they want to know Him. He always responds to honest seekers. Jesus promised, 'All who seek, find.'" (Peter Kreeft)  The objective in seeking is almost always to find, discover, or expose.  We never set out in a true spirit of seeking in anticipation we will never discover anything - we may not always know what we will discover, but we seek something. When our seeking is to find answers to what truly troubles our souls, the likelihood that our honest seeking will take us right to the feet of the cross is pretty good - because God is always looking for those who will seek with the desire to know truth.  In seeking, God reveals truth - in revealing truth, the soul is set free.

Without faith no one can please God because the one coming to God must believe He exists, and He rewards those who come seeking. (Hebrews 11:6 VOICE)

If we consider our passage today as "instruction" to be followed, the we could divide it into a couple of sections:

1) Our mindset in seeking is one of believing we will find what we seek.  The one who believes God exists comes to God with an expectant heart.  There is some form of "anticipation" in coming - we may not be sure what we will receive by our seeking, but our actions are based on the belief God is the creator of all things, cares deeply for his creation, and is the one who rewards all who seek to know him as Lord.

2) Our position in seeking is really based on hope.  We see in verse one of this chapter:  "Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen."  We don't seek aimlessly, but with a specific "purpose" or hope in mind.  We know there are things we don't understand, have not seen, don't yet know exist, but we come expectantly (hopefully).  Some think of hope as a "pie in the sky" kind of thing - as though it were a "crap shoot" as to if we will ever receive anything good from our seeking.  Our passage assures us those who seek God with the conviction of heart determined to understand him will receive this reward!

3) Our action in seeking is one of not only taking steps toward finding truth, but it is being open (making room) for whatever it is we discover in our seeking.  It would make no sense to seek to discover something only to leave what we discovered behind.  We either tend and preserve our discoveries in life, or we take them up and put them into some use in our lives.  If we discover a quiet little spot in the woods where we can enjoy the babbling of a nearby brook, songs of the birds high up in the trees, and the cool repose of a lush bed of grass, we might want to preserve this for many a return to this spot to enjoy it over and over again.  If we discover a beautiful seashell washed up onto the shore of the beach, we might scoop it up and take it home to remember the discovery time and time again.  God's truths are both preserved for future use (time and time again), and enjoyed in the moment!

We don't seek God with an absent-minded, come what may kind of attitude.  We seek God with determined spirit, open mind, and "boots to the ground" kind of action!  Just sayin!

Come and see for yourself

I often explore with people their "learning style" - in other words, how do they best learn?  This helps me to craft my lessons with them - especially if they need to get tough concepts or practices down pat.  If they are visual learners, telling them what they need to know just won't cut it.  They may get the information on how something is done, but because they haven't seen it, they won't get the full grasp of it.  If they are hands-on learners, they need to experience it for themselves - see how the parts fit together to make whole. Once they do it a few times, they begin to get the hang of it and pretty much could teach the next one.  Maybe we are all a little like that - we need to see, touch, and experience things in Christ before we really "get them".  I don't think God is caught by surprise that any of us don't just "get him" by reading his Word alone.  Perhaps this is why he gives us such convincing evidence in the fellow believers we have as examples and the fact that Jesus took on the form of flesh to help us "get him" in a way we can actually wrap both our minds and hands around.

Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, “We’ve found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!” Nathanael said, “Nazareth? You’ve got to be kidding.”  But Philip said, “Come, see for yourself.”  Jesus said, “You’ve become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven’t seen anything yet! Before this is over you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”  (John 1:45-46; 50-51 MSG)

Jesus is just beginning his earthly ministry and as he does, he finds there are some drawn to him - maybe out of curiosity, or perhaps they are just "ripe" to meet the next "big teacher" in the region.  There were likely those with hearts prepared to see the Messiah come and to redeem the nation of Israel.  In fact, their eagerness to embrace Jesus as "Teacher" or "Rabbi" suggested they were hungry for the Word to be made clear to them.  Little did they know that the Word had become flesh and was actually dwelling among them!

These are hungry hearts - men searching for the Messiah - eager to embrace him with all they have, yet there is a moment or two of hesitation when someone comes and brings the news that he has arrived.  Why?  Perhaps it is because they never expected him to look the way he looked, to act in the mild and meek manner he consistently displayed, or just because they had some preconceived idea of how he would come.  Some were brothers - and they hesitated even when their closest relative shared the news that the one they had waited so long for was finally here.  We all know our nearest and dearest can pull a prank on us on occasion, right?  Maybe they thought it was a big prank!

Yet, in the midst of the commotion of having found the Messiah, the message rings out clearly:  Come see for yourself!  There is no room for doubt when there is an opportunity to see it for yourself.  There is nothing quite like coming into the revelation of truth - when it becomes real and personal to you specifically, it is awesome!  In "coming to see for themselves" they came into the revelation of truth become flesh - God incarnate.  The Son of God, the Messiah, the awaited one stood in their midst.  Their immediate response to "seeing" was "believing".  Maybe this is why we often say "seeing is believing".  So much of what we finally come to believe is because we have been granted even a smidgen of a window into "seeing" something.  

God's greatest hope for his children is for them to come to a place of recognizing him in their lives - seeing him as Lord is one thing, embracing him as Savior is another.  Seeing him as creator of all things is one thing, embracing him as the one who transforms your very soul is another.  Seeing him as your heavenly Father is one thing, embracing him as "Dad" (ABBA) is quite another.  God plans for us to see - for in seeing we come into a place of belief like no other.  Yes, there is a place of belief which begins without seeing, but it delights God to bring "revelation" of what is believed without seeing!  

What has God been teaching you of late?  Chances are the lessons he is training you in today have not been fully revealed to you as of yet.  In taking the first steps of belief you come into a place where he may show you what he intends for you to learn by walking in the truth he reveals.  These disciples did not know what the next several years would hold for them.  They had no clue the deeper revelation of truth they would experience.  Yet they came - eager to see for themselves this Messiah - the great Teacher.  Little did they know they were standing in the midst of their Redeemer God, the one true and holy sacrifice for all of mankind's sin.  Little did they realize the intensity of their own need for such a redeemer.  In time, they would come to see the truth which escaped them at that moment.  It was in "coming" that they were positioned to have greater truth revealed.

My challenge to you and I today - come and see for yourself!  There is never a more ready soul than the one who is "on the journey" to find truth, to see it revealed in all its glory not only around them, but IN them.  For in seeking truth, truth comes to where you are.  Just sayin!

You reading my mind?

If you have ever used the term, "You must have read my mind", then you probably had someone show up with just the right thing you needed at that moment, coming through for you without you even having to ask for their assist, etc.  Truth be told, they didn't read your mind - they anticipated your needs, did the neighborly thing, or just listened to the voice of God!  Man does not read man's thought - God does!  Wouldn't it be great if we could read God's mind?  To truly figure out this whole mess we call life and know the end from the beginning?  Well, according to what he told Jeremiah, we can!

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.  Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you.  Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13 AMP)

Thoughts and plans for welfare and peace, not for evil, and to give us hope in our final outcome!  Welfare is really our "well-being" - the condition of being and doing well.  Peace is something which eludes us at times because we live in the opposite of peace, being affected by our circumstances so much our emotions are in a frenzy most of the time!  God's plans are for us to know AND live in peace - not frenzy, worry, or fear.  God doesn't plan or have thoughts of evil for our lives - but of good.  He doesn't want us to lose hope, though the journey will be long and the road ahead pocked with potential pitfalls.  His plans and his thoughts are for our good!  

So how is it we don't understand the mind of God?  He puts it quite plainly in this passage.  It might just be because we don't finish the passage!  The rest of the passage gives us hints on how it is we learn to tap into the thoughts and plans of God for our lives:

* We have to ask.  He says we need to "call upon him".  Too many times, we get in the midst of our mess and we forget who holds the mess in the palm of his hands!  We don't ask, so we don't receive the understanding we need.  James reminds us, "If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves."  (James 1:5-6 MSG)  If we don't know, we are to ask.  We only get to know another's thoughts when we take time to explore them.  Isn't it silly how much time we actually take "worrying" our way through life and the answer is really right at our fingertips?

* We have to seek.  If you really take this in context, you will see there is a sense of urgency or earnest which is described in this passage.  We are to require God as a vital necessity for life itself.  It is a seeking which is directed from the heart.  Since the heart is made up of our emotions, this is suggestive of some form of passionate and intense seeking.  Earnest is an intense and serious state of mind, with a sense of importance planed on that which is sought after.  In other words, we place an "importance" on finding what it is we seek.  When we do so, there is a drive from within which is deeply felt.  It is not casual, or cursory.  When we get serious about finding God's plan, we realize seeking takes some effort on our part.  If you have ever sat down to truly get to know another you have an interest in, you know only a fraction of the "investment" it takes to develop that relationship.  God asks nothing less of us - in fact, he asks more.  Seeking involves not only our minds, but our hearts.  In turn, it involves our obedience.  

What is the outcome of this asking and seeking?  I think it is found later in the 29th chapter, verse 27, when Jeremiah hears from God, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for Me?"  We learn God has it all in his hands.  Nothing is out of his control or exceeds his abilities / capabilities.  What escapes our minds-eye never escapes his.  What befuddles our thinking is clear as crystal to him.  If we want to know God's thoughts and his plans for our lives, we need to follow the pattern he lays out for actually finding them.  Just sayin!