Word for today: Receive (John 16:24)

I love how God speaks! If you are one who struggles to believe that God still interacts with His people, then I encourage you to find a moment to be still and ask God to help you hear Him. Notice I didn't say "ask God to speak to you." No, the reality is that God is always "addressing us" whether it is through His Holy Word, in our conscious or subconscious thoughts, through many avenues, He is speaking today.

Faith for me, like many is a daily process; I will lay that out there because I don't want to make it sound easy. Just a few short years ago I was wrestling over several faith issues on such a grand scale and what kept surfacing for me was my struggle to believe that God was listening and that He would choose to speak to me. Time after time I would hear people say things like, "God showed me..." or "God told me..." and for the life of me, I didn't get it! I longed to hear God speak into the emptiness inside of me because for many years I had felt God was not there and if He was, He just didn't care. In desperation one day I finally poured out to God my anger, frusteration, longing and pain in a sobbing prayer. By no means was it a pretty sight but the outcome was beautiful and life transforming.

After the sobbing subsided and I was able to catch my breath, something flashed through my mind - it was "something" from the Lord! I heard a thought and it was "when do you listen to Me?" In that very tender moment, the God of all creation spoke to me, as a loving parent would their precious beloved child. I had asked God why He didn't speak to me but my underlying message was that He didn't care about me. He responded with all the care in the world and His word for me was that I didn't let Him!

In that moment I saw my life from His vantage point. As a busy wife, mother, employee, volunteer, friend, as well as other important relationships I lived out, I had left little room to receive what I had longed for and truly needed - the comfort, presence and blessing of my Heavenly Father who always cares for His children.

Because of the lesson of that day I have learned that in asking it's important to be able to receive. As it says in John 16:24, "You have asked nothing in My name. Ask and you will recieve that your joy may be full." Those are the words of a loving Heavenly Father who longs to comfort, bless and encourage us in our life journey. When He addressed me that day, I learned that I needed to ask and then receive and in order for me to receive, I needed to make room for Him. For me making room for Him was to spend time reading the bible daily. It also meant finding a quiet place to be still and alone with Him where I could listen.

My life has never been the same since that day and it just keeps getting better (notice I said better and not easier). What I've gained since I learned to ask and receive is what gives me strength and courage to live. So what could God be saying to you that you are missing? If you are wrestling with a silent God, then ask Him and believe you will receive - that's how He works!