I’m sitting at my computer with the deadline for this article only 24 hours away. My problem is simple. I don’t know what to write. Maybe I have Writer’s block, but then again I am only a writer with a small ‘w’, so I don’t think that applies.
Doesn’t He know?
In the past, I’ve had an idea that I knew was God-inspired. Often the idea would come just as I was about to fall asleep. This month however, I’ve had lots of ideas but not a special, God-breathed one. I can’t explain how I know the difference – I just know. Now I’m wondering why God has abandoned me. Doesn’t He know I need all the help I can get?The tension
Have you ever experienced asking God for direction, confirmation, wisdom or a solution only to find the silence deafening? How do you handle the tension between knowing God has equipped us with an amazing capacity to solve problems creatively and waiting patiently on the Lord for his answer? As with King David, I can confidently say my help comes from the Lord, but many times I’m not aware of it. Maybe this time the answer has come in another way that I don’t recognise, want, expect or like.The Problem
The problem isn’t whether God speaks or not, or whether we hear or not. The problem is in the interpretation we give to the happenings in life and their meaning, which we then apply to the character of God.We change our perception of the character of God with the ebb and flow of our lives.
We praise God’s goodness when things go our way, and we question God’s integrity when things don’t go our way. We change our perception of the character of God with the ebb and flow of our lives. This is upside-down thinking.
God never changes
He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.- He is love all the time or not love at all
- He is just all the time or not just at all
- He is righteous all the time or not righteous at all
- He is faithful all the time or not faithful at all
- He is good all the time or not good at all
- He is patient all the time or not patient at all
- He is the Prince of Peace all the time or not the Prince of Peace at all
The answer to the dilemma of how we hear God speak is to first look at the character of God, and only then interpret the meaning of life’s events.
Now we can change our question from asking “Why?” to asking, “What now?”