Where are you, Lord?

 

A well-known phone carrier was famous for its mantra of "Can you hear me now?"

The mobile phone user wanted to make sure he is heard from any location, at any time, in any situation.  Connection is the key to success.

Suppose you are on a call with your spouse and they begin to fade out.  It’s hard to hear them – you might only catch every other word. Their voice might grow faint and you may hear static in the background. You frantically move from room to room in hopes that the signal with grow stronger.

Sometimes you are in a place with God where your signal is weak and your connection is wavering.  

The fault is not at God’s end, but at yours.  You've moved out of range and now you no longer hear Him clearly. “Where are you, God?” 

Now go back in time with me… Remember playing with two cans and a string when you were little – believing you were in an urgent conversation with your sister or best friend?  Sure, you could hear alright, but every now and then you wondered if what you said actually got to the ear of whoever was on the receiving end.  The science says it works, but you had your doubts.

Dr. David Jeremiah [Turning Point Magazine] puts it this way: 

 

  Whenever we pray, God is on the other end of the line with His ear to the can, hearing every word and listening to every vibration of our voices.  He hears even the faintest sigh.  The prophet Daniel prayed regularly all his life and history was changed.  The apostle Paul prayed, and cities were opened to the Gospel.  Hannah prayed and God lifted her burden.

  If you’re in anguish or distress, you don’t need two cans and a string.  Two bent knees and a broken heart will do just fine.

So, how can you be sure you’re being heard?  What can you do from your end to keep the connection intact?  Here are four simple things:

1.      Keep the line open.  (confession, repentance, devotion)
2.     Minimize distractions  (gadgets, TV, kids and pets)
3.      Focus on God  (Bible, devotions, praise music)
4.      Don’t lose hope while you wait.  (prayer)

I have personally been going through a season of wondering if I am hearing clearly from God or not. You know what I mean…You usually find yourself asking at least one of these questions out of frustration:

            “Lord, why don't you answer me?”

            "Jesus, where are you?"

            “Help me hear Your voice, Lord.”

I know intellectually that God is still where He has always been. The disconnection is at my end - not His!

I’m the one who has moved into the “dead zone” where the signal is faint at best, or non-existent at worst. Then I find myself rehearsing in my mind those things which might have caused the “dropped call”. 

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my hear; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”  Verses 1-4 give me pause to reflect on the fact that though I have interfered with the connection – God in His great mercy recognizes my human limitations and knows me intimately.  He comprehends my thoughts and my actions before I do.  His Spirit invites me to re-connect on a stronger signal.

I am glad God is still interested in having a dialog with me.  I often find myself taking a rogue thought captive and redirecting it to the Lord in the form of a prayer and praise.  I am determined to keep my line of communication open with Him despite my shortcomings and failures.

Do you have a tried and true method of staying connected to the Lord?  What advice can you share with others on how to maintain a strong signal through the constant static of life?

Now, more than ever - you need to hear Him clearly!

I am a sheep of the Lord’s pasture.  I listen for His voice.  I follow Him closely.

Yes Lord - I've got 5 bars now!

Deborah is the author of a Christian non-fiction book titled “Mission Possible”. It was written for women who love the Lord Jesus, but their spouse doesn’t share their passion.  It will encourage and challenge the reader to embrace God’s promises for their spouse and future together. Visit  http://www.spirituallyunevenmarriage.com

If you have been encouraged by this post - please take time to share it with others.

Where are you, Lord?

A Tribute to My Dad on Father's Day

Me and my Dad - circa 1965

It's Father's Day...the first Father's Day since my Dad passed away.

I miss his smile, his sense of humor, his reassuring words. I was his firstborn. He played ball with me, helped me built a tree house, and taught me how to ride a bike. He gave me driving lessons in our VW bus on the Navy base we were stationed at. He walked me down the aisle my first marriage and welcomed me home when it didn't work out four years later. He was happy for me when I remarried and learned to love my current husband like his own son.

Dad's have a way of making us feel secure.

They are often the first to give their approval and help build our self esteem. They watch over us and often stand between us and a cruel world.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a caring, loving Dad. I was blessed to have him in my life for many years. Dad was just shy of 84 years old when he died. My parents had just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in December.

Our Heavenly Father will be your Abba (daddy) when yours is not able to. He loves you with an everlasting love. He will never leave you or forsake you. (Joshua 1:5)

Here is a link to my last post about my journey with Dad during his illness  God's Amazing Love

Father's Day is an opportunity to thank our Dads, husbands, sons, and others in our lives that have played a fatherly role.  Below are four of my past Father's Day posts that you might enjoy reading...

Daddy's Little Girl

Father Knows Best

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY - Celebrate your Dad while you still can...

Deborah is the author of a Christian non-fiction book titled “Mission Possible”. It is written for women who love the Lord Jesus, but their spouse doesn’t share their passion.  It will encourage and challenge the reader to embrace God’s promises for their spouse and future together. 

Visit  http://www.spirituallyunevenmarriage.com

If you have been encouraged by this post - please take time to share it with others.

A Tribute to My Dad on Father's Day

Daddy's Little Girl

                                      

                          I am His little Princess

He lifts me up on His shoulders

He kisses my boo boos

He gives me a big bear hug

He has tea and cookies with me

He gently places a ladybug in my hand

He offers his wisdom and guidance

He wipes away my tears

He presents me to my betrothed

I dance to a waltz with him

This Father’s Day I was reminiscing about my Dad when I was much younger.  I did not grow up in a traditional Christian home.  My mother believed in God, but my father wasn’t interested.  Although I attended “church” on occasion – I didn’t meet the Lord Jesus Christ until I was 33 yrs. old, and the mother of a toddler.  Nonetheless, my Dad was a wonderful father.

He was a career US Naval aviator and later on taught high school.  He was a great role model growing up.  He gladly helped my Mom out around the house, played hide and seek outside with my sister and I, and he read us stories at bedtime when we were little.  I vividly remember marching around our living-room overseas in our pajamas, singing to Mitch Miller’s “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (on a record player console) as we paraded down the hallway for my Mom to see.  

I remember my sister and I dressed up as a doctor and nurse with our little bags – tending to our Dad’s “broken arm” and “high fever”.   He taught me to have the confidence to ride solo on my first bike ride without training wheels.  He tutored me in math, went over my spelling words with me, and helped me practice my role in a school play (pretending to be the male part).  He has always been my greatest supporter and cheerleader in life.  I even recall the joy in his eyes as he held his first great-granddaughter, who was just a day old at the time.

As children of the Living God, we have the perfect Heavenly Father. When Jesus spoke to the crowds about worry, wealth and judging, He began His teaching on the topic of asking and giving.  In Matthew 7:9-11 Jesus states, “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?   If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”  

The Apostle Paul writes to us in Romans 8:14-15 about our adoption as sons (and daughters) of God.  He says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father’.”  In Galatians 4:6 Paul says, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’”  The Aramaic word “Abba” is a term of endearment for Father.  We have all the privileges given to us as the adopted children of the Most High God.  He loves us and cares for us as His children in a most tender and compassionate way.

In I Thessalonians 2:10-12, Paul is addressing the church about the tenderness with which he and others nurtured the congregation during its infancy.  He says, “You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would have a walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.” 

Although your relationship with your earthly Daddy might not have been ideal – your Heavenly Father wants the best for His children.  Your Heavenly Father longs to love you, provide for, and protect you.  He will never leave or forsake you. He offers you wisdom, discernment and correction. He is merciful and gentle. He delights in you.  You can trust Him.  He is the perfect parent now and forever.

 This is a great photo of my Dad holding his great-granddaughter - 

born October 30th 2009 (thus the pumpkin outfit)

Deborah is the author of a Christian non-fiction book titled “Mission Possible”.  It is written for women who love the Lord Jesus, but their spouse doesn’t share their passion.  It will encourage and challenge the reader to embrace God’s promises for their spouse and future together. 

http://www.Godmissionpossible.com

 

Daddy's Little Girl

Father Knows Best

Father’s Day is approaching and I’d like to send a “shout out” to our son for a “Happy Father’s Day”. This will be his first Father's Day since becoming a Dad last October to a beautiful little girl. This is a picture of them that I will treasure forever. What a wonderful thing to see your children become parents, and then you observe the tenderness, love and care they exhibit as they cradle their child – your grandchild, for the very first time.  I was blessed and privileged to be present for her birth.

As children of the Living God, we have the perfect Heavenly Father. When Jesus was speaking to the crowds about worry, wealth and judging, He began teaching on asking and giving. In Matthew 7:9-11 Jesus states, “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” Our Father knows best. He created us and knows are intimate needs. He alone can fill the void within each heart.

In I Thessalonians 2:10-12, Paul is addressing the church about the tenderness with which he and others nurtured the congregation during its infancy. He says, “You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would have a walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”

Then in I Timothy, Paul writes to the young preacher in a most affectionate way: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, To Timothy, my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.” And again in II Timothy 2:1-2, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Paul often wrote to the churches he founded with love and concern as he did in I Corinthians 4. He writes,  “I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore, I urge you, imitate me. For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.” (I Corinthians 4:14-17) Paul repeatedly emphasized his emulation of Father God’s love and care for His church in his response and exhortation to believers in the first century.

We all remember the show “Father Knows Best” from the 1950’s and 1960’s. It started every week with the following announcement: "Here are Robert Young and Jane Wyatt, with Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin in Father Knows Best!" We’d follow the Anderson family each week as they worked through their weekly struggles and dilemmas, as well as interacting with each other at home as the “perfect family”.

The following comment comes from the “Father Knows Best – Official Website” - Jim Anderson wasn't really like a "Father" - he was more like a "Dad", and the TV audience connected. He was a responsible parent who loved his wife and kids. He was a man who would do a paper route in the rain for his sick son, Bud. He was a man who'd always choose to see Kathy in a school program rather than attend an important Chamber of Commerce dinner. His family came first, but it was a delicate balancing act.

This Father’s Day let us celebrate His love: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17)

Our Heavenly Father desires reconciliation between fathers and their children. The ultimate example is our being reconciled to Him through His Son Jesus. Malachi 4:6 is a wonderful picture of the pending reward of Christ’s second coming as he speaks of their relationship: “And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

Your Heavenly Father longs to love you, provide for, and protect you. He will never leave or forsake you. You can trust Him. He is the perfect parent now and for eternity.

Father Knows Best…

Deborah is the author of a Christian non-fiction book titled “Mission Possible”. It is written for women who love the Lord Jesus, but their spouse doesn’t share their passion.  It will encourage and challenge the reader to embrace God’s promises for their spouse and future together. 

Visit  http://www.spirituallyunevenmarriage.com

If you have been encouraged by this post - please take time to share it with others.

Father Knows Best