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!