We met, I spoke, You listened,Incomplete, as doubts glistened,A lot of complains, exasperation,And now I wait for You to talk,in anticipation.
Footnotes:
There is this imagery in my head of how I would meet and greet my Heavenly Father, in person. A letter in my mailbox or a text in my chat with the time and place of meeting—maybe a reassuring line wherein He tells me how thrilled He is to meet me. He gets to my home in His car, just in time. I run late as usual but he waits patiently near my driveway—no honk, no call. He smiles as I step out, His eyes sparkle in excitement as He guides with His hand to the car. “He takes the wheel”.
We go to this place where He has prepared a luxurious banquet for me. I talk, He listens ardently. I complain, I whine but He does not look bored neither does He ask me to stop. He is quiet—He loves listening is what He says. I keep talking, not leaving a gap for Him to speak. We wind up our meal; it is time to get back. I still have a lot to say but little did I let Him talk. And when I get back to my bedroom, I wonder what He would have said. A sustained curiosity as I wait for our next meet and greet.
Although I know this is a typical teen movie scene in my head, I have played this story vividly in my head over and over again. I simply cannot wait to see my Father face to face, hear His distinct voice and have a real time conversation with Him. I have so much to tell. And I can do it now but I somehow cannot fully fathom the idea that He is with me all the time. It is not a meet and greet for an hour or two but a 24×7, eternal omnipresence.
Proverbs 3 is a great reminder that God is constantly at work in our lives. He seeks to be the Lord over our hearts because He knows how our lives work best. It is His presence that makes the difference, not our skillset or reputation.
We take three highlight verses from this chapter to help us increase our awareness of God’s presence :–
Vs 5: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”
As human beings, we tend to compartmentalise things and people in our head. This can be quite detrimental when it comes to the Christian life as this implies that we give only certain specific portions of our lives to the Lord. He is our Lord on a Sunday but we play this role on the rest of the days. Time to “Put God first in your heart”
Vs 6: “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.”
We often dismiss certain things as unimportant, and don’t inform God about it before making decisions. It is key that we submit every small and big thing, no matter how petty it seems, to the Lord. This is the first step wherein we make conscious efforts to involve God in every detail of our lives, which in turn creates a discipline in us to keep God first before we proceed with something— “Put God before your plans”
Vs 9: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.”
We tend to be very casual about our relationship with God often times. Just because we don’t see Him, we feel He doesn’t see us as well. And this bit sometimes prompts us to take ‘honour’ lightly, especially when it comes to money. God does not need our wealth or first fruits but it is symbolic of respect and honour. One has to be truly intentional about this bit; it is a discipline—“Put God first with your fruit”
God is in the thick of things in this world. He has not taken up residence in a distant galaxy neither has He chosen to seclude Himself on a throne in an incandescent castle. He has drawn near. He has involved Himself in birthday parties, long drives, heartbreaks and funeral homes of our day. He is as near to us on Monday as on a Sunday morning worship session. At the coffee break as much as the communion table. But the big question is—am I truly aware of His presence?
So…
Can it be more than just a meet and greet? Can I not see it as a rendezvous?
Instead, can I converse with Him throughout without needing a sign or a cue?