God Says... "Call to me and I will answer."

By Peter Pollock

"  God doesn’t hear me..."

How often do we say, or at least THINK this?

Probably all of us know or believe that God DOES hear us… but what we’re really saying is that he doesn’t respond.

I can’t even count how many times my kids have said to me “You’re not listening” when I’m hearing everything they say.

What they really mean is “You’re not responding the way I want or when I want!”

The problem they have is that they don’t always have all of the information I have or they can’t see the bigger picture the way I can.

They use the word ‘listening’ to mean ‘responding the way I want.’

By that definition, God rarely ‘listens’ to me.

A different way of thinking.

None of us are ever going to convince God to do what we want, when we want. It’s just not going to happen.

God knows an infinite amount more than us and sees EVERYTHING.

We only see a tiny amount and we know a lot less than we think we do.

The only answer here is for us to change our way of thinking. We need to go from thinking ‘God’s not listening to me’ to ‘maybe I’m not listening to God.'

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God says... "You were never meant to understand My Word on your own."

By Jason V (Ponderings of a Pilgrim Pastor)

Be honest: Have you ever read a passage of Scripture and thought, “What in the world is going on here?”  Have you ever thought that maybe God never intended you to be able to understand it on your own.

The Lone Ranger is a quintessentially American style of hero.  The iconic image of the lone gunman, enforcing the law against all odds, is one of our favorite images.  Bruce Willis picked up the Lone Ranger motif in his series of Die Hard movies and Kiefer Sutherland played that role of man-alone-against-all-odds as Jack Bauer in the hit TV series, 24.

In the Middle Ages, images of heroism and villainy were quite different.  The great heroes were those who were most loyal to their Lord or King and who stood with their brothers in arms.  The “Lone Rangers” were the black knights, who were almost always bad guys.  The knight who rode off into the forest alone was perhaps brave but also shifty, unreliable and not to be trusted.

As American Christians, we need to realize how much of our life of faith is shaped by our culture and not by God’s Word.  One example is the belief that every Christian can understand the Bible on his own.  God did not say that in His Word.  Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”

The apostles and prophets received God’s Word and wrote it down for us.  Evangelists proclaim the Gospel to unbelievers to bring them to Christ.  Pastors and teachers serve the church by preaching and teaching God’s Word.  Christ calls us to belong to His church, where we can each exercise our gifts in building up the whole body together.  Cut off and left on our own, we just don’t grow and thrive as God intended.

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God Says... "You are not alone."

By Dusty (Reflections on the Life of a Christian)

Alone. Image by SSpivak. Courtesy of stock.xchng.

Have you ever felt alone? Have you ever thought you were swimming against the current of life? Have you ever said: "No one understands me." or "No one wants me around." or "No one cares."

I have, and I would venture to say most everyone has at some point. Maybe it was during your childhood or teenage years. It could have been as you were going through a very difficult situation. Or perhaps, it is because you seem to struggle with what others take for granted.

This may seem like a pat "Christian" answer, but you are NOT alone. No matter the circumstance. God cares for you, and He is there with you.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Some may respond and say, "God is not a 'real' person. He's up there, and I am down here going through 'xyz' all alone." Others might feel as though God has never been there for them or done anything good for them.

I'm sure Job could have felt that way when he lost his farm, his family, and his health. I imagine Daniel may have wondered about it as he was thrown into a lion's den after being caught praying. Maybe Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego feared such just before they were thrown into the fiery furnace....Or even Paul as he was imprisoned.

There are so many accounts in scripture of God's people going through trials, standing alone, and needing Him. In every one of them, God was there and He came through for them. But I would say none of them would have elected to suffer as their preferred method/solution. I am sure every one of them would have chosen to skip the bad situations all together, but that did not happen... but they were not alone... and God had a plan... and His plan was good.

I don't know what you are facing. I don't know what it is causing you to feel as if you are all alone. Whatever it is, I encourage you to trust God with it. He is there for you. The problem may not disappear. You may still struggle and suffer, but He will see you through... and His outcome will outshine your expectations.

It has for me. More than once. Never how I would have chosen, but always in a manner that has brought me further along in my journey. He has strengthened me, matured me, and blessed me. I have come to know: I am not alone for He is there with me.

Will you trust Him? Will you seek His companionship? Will you allow Him to see you through to the other side... even when things are not going your way?

Dusty Rayburn is a lay minister and fellow blogger. He lives in Locust Fork, Alabama, has been married six years and has one amazing daughter. In his words: "I am a Christian. I am not perfect, nor do I imagine I ever will be. My God is perfect. I am forgiven. I am loved. I am His." You can find him on Twitter and at Reflections on the Life of a Christian.

God Says... "Don't Judge Me, But I'll Judge You!"

By Kely Braswell (Dangerous Breeze)

You Say: "Other people have so many problems. Why can't they get over their issues?""

God Says: Look a little closer. Judge not, lest you be judged. Judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment"

I’ve got a huge problem.

One of my friends is a pedophile, and I don’t know it.

Perhaps two. Or more.

And what’s more, I’ve been nice to him. (or her).

And I have another problem.

One of my friends is having an affair. And I don’t know that either.

And there may be more than one.

And one of my friends has a deep problem with obsessive lust. Actually, many, many of my friends do. They view pornography, ALL the time.

But I’m not sure — at least not always sure — which ones they are.

A couple are alcoholics. A few more do drugs of one kind or another.

I can’t believe I hang out with these people. And I even love them.

They sit right beside me, every week, in church. If I knew it, I'd blow them up.

But there’s a dark secret in their lives, too, and they don’t know it.

Unaware, they are. (As Yoda would say.)

One of their friends is very, very selfish. One of their friends judges others. One of their friends has pride. And anger issues. And can be very impatient with his kids, sometimes in an incredibly jerkish, scary way.

And they may not know it, because their friend has learned to hide it pretty well, especially in a group. Especially in a “christian” group. Really well, at church, especially.

And on top of all that, their friend is a pastor.

And he is me.

Right there in their midst.

If they only knew.

"Kely is a church planting team trainer with Antioch Ministries, International." He has a B.S. in Secondary Education, and he’s a lawyer on top of that (go figure that combination!). He has also been an overseas church planter off and on for the last 20 years. Kely is a husband and father to six, and enjoys running, reading and writing. You can find more of his writing over at his blog: Dangerous Breeze.

God Says... "I give you my wisdom."

By Jason S (Connecting to Impact)

School for me was not that difficult. I was intuitive enough to know how to give the teachers what they wanted on assignments or at least sound coherent. I had a pretty good knack for hearing in class what would be important to remember and taking notes so tests didn’t require too much studying to get an ‘A.’

Now, if you experienced the opposite, don’t feel jealous. I received little to no common sense in most areas and did not develop any “street smarts” of any kind. I was young when I got married and thrown into a whole new realm called “the real world.” There were thousands of situations then and now where I have felt woefully inadequate, nervous, unprepared, and downright stupid.

This is my point. It’s very rare for any of us not to feel stupid at certain times or about certain things. It may lead us to tell God, “I’m stupid,”  but He has a response (He always has a response)—“I give you my wisdom.”

Too much “book smarts” can leave you in analysis paralysis. Too much “street smarts” can leave you jaded and cynical. The good news is that God gives us divine wisdom to meet every challenge in our life if we let Him, and there are no negative side effects.

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