“I struggle…..I want to feel closer to God…..maybe that feeling….that yearning is all there is, maybe that is enough.” From the TV show Madam Secretary.
We all yearn for closeness with God. We want to feel His presence. We wish we could feel Him holding us….and yet it is rare if ever we actually feel that way. Sometimes we have that mountaintop experience but even the disciples had to come down. Life intrudes. The thing is whether will feel it or not God is always there….always holding us. So we need to turn loose of wanting a certain feeling and just choose to know He is there. We will still yearn for Him and maybe that is enough.
Loving God, sometimes we want to feel your presence…want some assurances….want writing on the wall. Forgive us for our feelings and teach us to accept your presence whether we feel it or not. AMEN
Prayer is our communication with God. Do you pray? Do I take time for prayer? How do we expect to experience God without prayer? Too often we spend time telling God our wants and needs without listening for an answer. Too often we don’t think God for the gifts we have been given. Take time for prayer but remember to thank God and LISTEN. It is in silence that God speaks.
There is so much judgment going on today. People are judged for their skin color, their religion, their money or lack thereof. That is only the beginning of the list. We could go on with transgender, homosexual, adulterer and on and on.
God definitely has a sense of humor. Just when you think that you have everything in place the whole plan falls apart. I am sure that God wants us to stay flexible and follow His plan. Sometimes it is not the plan that we had in mind or even wanted to follow. When things hit us like a pie in the face we have to maintain a sense of humor. We have to be able to laugh at ourselves, wipe the pie off our faces and follow God.
Life is not a bed of roses. Things happen that cause us pain. We can get discouraged. But God never promised that life would be perfect. He did promise that he would be with us every day. His strength is there for us no matter what. Take a deep breath and lean on Him. He can take it!
God sleeps in the minerals, awakens in plants, walks in animals, and thinks in man. 
Our actions can make a difference. I met someone I hadn’t seen in years and hardly remembered. The person greeted me with great warmth and told me that I changed her life! I didn’t remember anything about this. I had no idea what I had done but she did. We can make the difference in someone’s life…..mostly by love. God has called us to love one another. We may never know the result of our interaction….but God does. And we might know someday… but we may not. Be aware every day that you may be the difference!
Each day we meet people whether at our job, walking on the street or maybe even on the phone. We never know what is going on in the lives of the people we meet. Even when talking to someone on the phone we can smile. You can hear it in a voice. Smile as you pass people on the street. You may be the only person who acknowledged their existence today. You have no idea what that simple gesture can mean.
I hope that everyone was able read this poem. It illustrates a problem that most of us have. We can’t see the forest for the trees..We spend time trying to find God. We search everywhere. We want to be able to prove that God is. The thing is we can’t. There is no way to prove God. We just need to choose Him. Choose every single day to accept and believe that God is with us because that is exactly where he is!
God did not choose for us to be unhappy. It is not a good advertisement for life lived as a Christian. Who want to join with people who go around with grump or gloomy faces. God wants us to be joyful Christians. People will want to be with you and find out what makes you able to live in this way. Be a happy Christian.
Hear God in Other Voices 