How many of us when we’re waiting for an important call keep checking our phones like that pot of water waiting to boil on the stove?
We look – look again to check if we missed something and didn’t hear the ring. When the call finally comes our anxiety is quenched. The relief palatable.
God is calling us.
Actually, God is calling you.
God is calling me.
Are you listening? Am I?
What if we had to “qualify” to hear his call? Would we take the call more seriously? Would we be more diligent if we had to be allowed to hear Him? What if it cost money? Would we work harder to have just enough money to find God? What if He only called the righteous? Would we prove ourselves so much more worthy through all the efforts we would make publicly to be “holy”?
Mark 2:17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.
Fortunately for us, God calls the sinners. That’s us. Are you listening? We don’t have to qualify. We’re already in that crowd. Is that why it’s too easy?
We’ve been talking about Biblical truths and embracing His word the same for all verses as we do for our “faith” verses where His words are engraved deep in our hearts, proven true, indisputable.
God is calling you. Are you checking your messages? Are you waiting anxiously by your “phone?” Or, are you moving through your life with the thought that He’ll leave a message. You can check back in with Him later. God is the originator of “call waiting.” He always hears me. I’ll get back to Him tonight. I only pray every night. Well, when I remember. I mean, when I’m not too tired. Well, you know. I pray a lot. Just not every day.
Are you tuned in to where He is trying to communicate with you?
In His Word. What? Time to read the Bible, who has that kind of time? I don’t even understand what it means. Read some churchy emails from my Small Group leader. I know her. She’s not so great. I don’t have time to read that stuff. I don’t have time to go to Small Group, why would I have time to read an email?
@ church. Or, is it, on Sunday only if your husband feels like going to church, too? Or it’s rainy out? Or there wasn’t a party the night before? Or only when Rick is preaching? Or when someone will go with you? Or, I went last week and once a month is it for me. I watch online. Well, when I can remember or it’s interesting. Look, I go when he stops asking for money or volunteers or whatever. I just don’t have that kind of time every week.
At Small Group? My bad, of course, Small Group is only relevant when there is nothing better to do and you don’t have a doctor, friend in town, appointment with a coworker for coffee, house cleaning to do, your nails to get done, your suitcase to unpack, more sleep to get to? God totally gets that. Priorities and everything. He prioritized His son to die for us sinners. He understands priorities and how they get complicated.
Music. Can He reach you through music? Are you listening? How many hours a day do we travel around with our kids. No time for God except in the car, are you praying? Are you listening to music that brings you closer to Him or His message? There is plenty out there? Is that the only time He can get to you or is He still on hold somewhere waiting?
Prayer. Does our prayer life kick in only in an emergency? Hey, God, remember me? Please help me……. Is that us? Only praying the prayers of the desperate?
It’s sad, actually, if we think of it. If there was a hurdle to jump for God to reach back to us or a cost to pay or a rite of passage, more would line up to do it to get to hear God, see His face, listen to His wisdom. If there was the Marathon of Holiness we’d be lining up for all of our ribbons and we’d be working out every morning waking up early to get the chance to prove ourselves. To show ourselves worthy to be in touch with God. To earn our medals and put the pictures on Facebook. Us and our prayer medals. The pictures of our whole family on the mountain we climbed to talk to God. Look at us. We are worthy. God talked to us again. Third time for us this year. Bumper stickers on our car. Window decals with number of medals we have for talking to Jesus. Rock Stars!
He gave us freedom. We are free to choose when to reach out to Him. He is waiting. He turns His face to us when we pray.
We leave Him standing there. We leave him waiting. We put God on hold because we’re way too busy for God right now. We’re Mom’s, we’re wives, we’ve got jobs. We’ve got things to do.
He gives His hand to us freely so we wait to take it. It is too easy. We don’t have to work hard enough to prove ourselves worthy. He’ll be right there when we get back. We’ll get to Him later.
If we needed to complete a triathlon for God, we’d all have our designer, figure hugging, workout clothes on. We’d be passing each other up and down the swimming lanes. Whizzing by each other on the bikes. Proudly flouting our ribbons of triumph the number of times we’ve talked to God. The number of times we earned it.
It’s free. So, we don’t value the precious opportunity. It’s private. No one knows when we don’t. He’ll wait for us. He’s the perfect God. He loves us anyway. We’re free to do exactly what we want. We can talk to Him anytime. We can hear from Him whenever we want. He’s right there. No worries. I’ll come back to Him. Look out the window at the gorgeous world around us. Listen to His creation show us His love. We wait. He’ll still be there.
“For where two or more gather in my name, there I am with them.” Mathew 18:20
If you consistently find yourself too busy for God, like I used to, it may be time for a priority check.
Check in with Him. He’s waiting. He has all the time in the world. It’s us who don’t know when ours runs out. Don’t waste your chances to know your God before you see Him. How are you getting to know your God? If that’s a hard question to answer that’s something to think about. How many hours in a week? You can’t give Him one? Too few hours to pray a few minutes? Really? That’s what we’re going with as our excuse? We’re smarter than that, ladies.
Free and priceless. What are we waiting for?
purelyjoyous living 