Sunday, June 22, 2008

God There?


I was asked, “Sharon, how do I know God is there, that He hears me, and know if He is speaking to me when I can’t see or hear Him?” That’s a question I used to wonder myself…at least until I got to know God’s heart and began spending more time with Him. I had friends who would tell me that they felt a calling on their life from God, or that God had spoken to them, or that they had a close relationship with Him, but I really didn’t understand it. I was a believer who loved God, but I didn’t know how to hear from Him. I wasn’t even sure if He was aware of me all of the time. I imagined God up in Heavenand that one day I would meet Him, but for now I should just try to be a good girl here on earth.“If you see yourself in this description, read on!”Have you ever had a friendship with someone you’ve not seen in person? I have with a woman I met on a message board. A message board is a place on a website where you can ask questions, make comments, and talk to other people on theinternet about a certain subject. I’d never met or begun a friendship with someone through the internet before. Typically, I would post or respond to a question and move on. This one time, however, I read a comment posted by a woman all the way across the country from me. Her name was Cindy. I responded and I can hardly believe where the friendship has gone from there. After realizing from our posts that we had so much in common, we exchanged email addresses and began communicating. I had heard horror stories about friendships formed on the internet, so I sought to make sure this woman was who she said she was. So we began talking on the phone and exchanging pictures and she made all the first moves, I was confident that I was not heading into a scheme. Also wanted her to know that I was being truthful about who I was and eventually gave her my phone number. When I felt sure that she was indeed who she said she was, I let my guard down and our friendship blossomed. You see, before a deep meaningful friendship can occur, both parties have to know they can trust the other. We did not openly share our lives with each other at first. It took time to develop a friendship to the level where we felt comfortable doing that. We wrote each other almost daily and talked by phone a few times. Today, I consider Cindy a true friend and someone that I could share just about anything with. I know she’d be there to listen to me, pray for me, and encourage me. I have never seen this friend of mine in person. Yet, I know she’s there. This reminds me a lot of how a relationship with God works. When we come to faith in the Lord, we don’t know Him intimately right away. It takes time. It takes reading His letters to us (the Bible). It takes getting comfortable with Him and trusting that we can openly share our lives with Him. It takes us learning that He is Who He says He is. When we work on our relationship with God, we learn that He can be trusted. We also learn that He loves us no matter what we’ve done or who we are. Even though we may not be able to physically see Him, we find He is there all of the time. Even though we may not be able to audibly hear Him, we learn He can and does speak to our heart. We discover this by investing time into the relationship. If you want to know God better, spend more time with Him. Read God’s Word and you’ll begin to experience God’s heart. Spend time alone with Him and you will begin to see and hear Him more in your life. It may be through a scripture, a friend, a feeling, or an idea that pops into your mind that you just sense is from God. When you know God better, you’ll also know how to recognize Him. It’s hard to explain, but you just do. God’s Message Board is always open and He is always there to listen and reply. He is knowledgeable on all subjects and He stands ready to meet with you at any time. If you find yourself searching for answers or wondering if God indeed cares for you, post a question on His Message Board through prayer. Hide His Word in your heart. Meet with Him one on One. He will be the best Friend you ever make and you’ll see and hear from Him in a whole new way. Have A Blessed Day!

9 comments:

Paula V said...

Good post. I've been guilty of that also...wanting to hear God and "complaining" that I don't at times or don't as much as other people or maybe not as "clear" and loud. But it is so true that we have to not only be in His Word but consistently in it so that His Word becomes part of us, He becomes part of us more deeply and then we can see and hear Him in our lives.
Thanks, Sharon.
Love,
Paula

Amy said...

My son and I were just talking about this very topic this morning.
It is hard to explain to someone how you hear God, because He speaks to all of us so differently.

This was a great post.
Thank you for stopping by my blog.
And thanks for the sweet words about my Allie Girl....I love her.:)

God Bless,
Amy:)

Joyfulsister said...

Aloha Sharon, Thank you for your visit to my blog, and for your kind words. Isn't it awesome how the Lord can lead us to one another as sisters in Christ *smile*. This was a beautiful post and I love the way you used your friendship with your friend Cindy as an example. You know I find that we all can learn from each other. At tmes we may go through the same issues in life , yet come through it in totally different ways and sharing those experiences can be such a blessing when a heart searches for answers and the Lord leads them to others who can be such an encouragement. Hugz Lorie

GOD'S LADIE said...

It is awesome when you develop and have a close relationship with GOD. HE is ever faithful, trustworthy and merciful. HE is indeed my bestfriend for life. I love HIM with all my heart. Lately, his whisper to my soul has been "BE STILL". I find as I am still, GOD reveals the most awesome things to me. As I search and study HIS word, wisdom is given. Praise GOD! Great post.
Blessings and favor,
LaTonya

From the Heart said...

I'm doing great. I never heard from the doctor again after the nuse called and said a prescription was called in and of all things it was a new generic one. I had cautioned them about what to send me and what I thought I could take. Well, I just put those pills in God's hands and I took all 14 of them without any problems and the bladder infection cleared up. Praise God!. It must
have been what the doctor thought it was.

We're taking out grandchildren to Virginia Beach to stay a week with my oldest daughter. We will problably be back Tuesday or Wednesday. Their mother is going on Thursday and stay until Sunday and bring them home. My oldest, Sherri, is 46 yrs old, never married (too picky) but is planning to adopt 2 children in the near future. God impressed me to start praying for her husband,now that tells me He has someone picked out for her and those children will need a father.

I read Rachels bio one day and it said she got her Masters at Regent University, so did Sherri, but Sherri had already finished and was working for the Family Channel when Rachel was there. Since then Sherri has worked in NY and then back to VB and now is a Vice President in charge of Marketing and Public Relations at Regent University. God has certainly been good to her. This is the best job she has ever had and thoroughly enjoys it. Since becoming a VP she now reports to Pat Robertson. Of course I'm proud of both my girls. Amy works in Charlotte for a jewelry store and has been there for a very long time. They keep me praying. You never stop being a mother no matter how old they are.
Have a great day,
AliceE.

Lynn - JnL4God said...

Sharon,
Thanks for the comments and your hubby's website. I took a look at it it looks nice. I mentioned it to my hubby, but I think he is doing his own study right now, but said okay and thanks.
Very good post and so true. We need that trust.
Have a great day,
Lynn

From the Heart said...

Sharon, I really like your new blog especialy the ones that look like a marque or lights running around. I don't really know what the word for this is but how do you do that? If would love to use it on my blog if you wouldn't mind telling me how.
Thanks,
AliceE.

From the Heart said...

Sharon,
I don't know what is wrong with me today but I keep doing things backwards. I left you a message under your comment on my blog. Hope you have time to read it. When I went down to fix my breakfast this morning all of a sudden I realized I was fixing what I normally have for lunch.

I put the prayer on because on Monday I talked with 3 different people who had prayer requests that were very serious. By the end of the day I felt like the world was on my shoulders. That prayer was laying on my desk and after reading it I just turned everything over to God. I just felt I could not bear the load and He says we don't have to, just give it to Him and He will take care of it so that's what I did.
Blessings,
AliceE.

From the Heart said...

Sharon,
Thanks for the words of wisdom and your prays. They mean a lot to me.

If Ryan has his laptop I will try to stay in touch (if it works right).

Did you see my blinkie? It's down a ways on the sidebar.
God bless you,
AliceE.