Does God truly Speak to Us?

Have you ever felt lost, confused, and desperate for direction, but Heaven remained silent?  For those of us who've been Christians for awhile, we've probably experienced this at least once in our walk with God.  For me, a couple of weeks ago, I received some bad news which sent me into a tailspin.  I grew confused, started to doubt what I was doing, and was completely unsure of how to proceed.  This news related to my career and in particular was directed at a book I was about to start writing.  Should I write it? Should I not write it? Was it God's will? Would it do damage to my career?   I had no idea!

I don't know about you, but I'm a type-A personality. I rush rush rush all day long, getting everything done on my list. I rarely relax when there's things to be done. Consequently, I have difficulty just sitting and thinking or sitting and listening for God. My mind is constantly spinning with thoughts and ideas and scenes from my book and errands I have to run, laundry, and what I'm cooking for dinner! It's a madhouse in my brain! No wonder God can't get a word in edgewise!  So, when I need direction or I need a word from God, I want him to tell me right away... send an email, text me, shout from heaven! Whatever, just do it now so I can move on.

But in this case, I couldn't move on. I had to stop. I had to wait. I had to hear from God before I could do anything else. And He was being quiet!  (Or I was too busy to hear!)   And just for the record, setting aside 10 minutes to hear from God while tapping your fingers on the table and sighing impatiently, is not truly waiting on Him.  So, I got to thinking. I'm a parent. Whenever my kids come to me with a question, I happily answer as soon as I can. But what if one of my kids asked me a question and then instead of waiting for an answer, they ran off and did something else, or darted about the room, talking or watching TV and didn't listen to my response?  Or what if they did wait a couple of minutes for my response, but then the minute I gave it to them they ran off, shouting a quick thanks over their shoulder and I didn't get to spend any time with them.

God is a Father, and because He loves us so much, He wants to spend time with us. He knows, like any parent, that the more time we spend with Him the more we will learn, the more we will grow to be like Him. He also knows that the more time we spend with Him, the more joyful, more peaceful we will be! Yet, we keep rushing around here and there, never sitting still. So, what does God do? He waits. He doesn't give the answer right away.  He waits until we settle down, take a deep breath, and actually spend some quality time with Him.

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Well, that's what it came down to with me. I finally stopped fretting and wringing my hands and trying to decide on my own. I sat down in my back yard and had a conversation with my Father. A real back and forth conversation. And by the end, as I sat silently feeling the breeze on my face and watching the birds flit from branch to branch in the pine tree in my backyard, I heard from God.  It came from inside me and started bubbling up in my heart. How did I know it was God? 

Because I felt an incredible peace. And here's the thing. This direction He gave me was something I really didn't want to do. But I felt peace about it. How can you feel peace about something you don't want to do? Something that will take 6 months of hard work to do?  But I did!  The feeling was similar to when you are faced with a moral choice and you know inside the right thing to do. It felt just like that...like it was the right thing to do. And the peace that came with it only confirmed it was from God.

Anyway, I share this because I hear from so many Christians who say they have a hard time hearing from God, or that they don't know how to hear from God, or they never hear from God.  God speaks! He speaks differently to each of us, but He wants to have a conversation with you!! He desperately wants to! How do I know? Because He sent His Son to suffer and die for you just for the privilege!