Hearing from God: just DO it!

Sometimes, despite all of my desire to hear from God, things get so crazy that I often put talking to Him on the back-burner, as if God lives for my convenience.  I did that a lot these past few days, and I was beginning to wonder how much my relationship with Him really matters to me.  

If I cared so much, then I wouldn't keep  sacrificing my daily devotionals for more study time, and I wouldn't be rushing from here to there w/o even stopping to ask God for guidance.

If I cared, then I would just freakin STOP.  I'd simply be still.  

I knew I needed time away from other people to just be with God, so in desperate need of quiet, I turned off my iPod, my cell phone, my computer.  I thought that by shushing the world as much as possible, I'd be sure to hear Him.  

But I was so exhausted that as soon as I sat down to pray, I fell asleep!   And of course, when I woke up, I was even more tired of not connecting with God.

But God is gracious, and I believe He knew how much I missed talking to Him, so He gave me the desire to do an activity for Him.  He encouraged me to draw, the only thing I've ever been able to do while being actively still.  

Drawing is something I loved to do since I could hold a pencil.  But while it's my first love, it's also the love I neglect the most...   I guess I denied myself the pleasure of visual expression because it's inconvenient (as opposed to poetry, which can be created anywhere), and because it requires my full attention-- essentially, it requires all of me.  For this reason, I haven't picked up my old set of charcoal pencils for almost a year, and as a new Christian, I've never even thought of drawing for the Lord-- but today, as soon as I finished my midterm, I bolted home with a burning desire to draw Jesus.  

And thank God for that desire, because a couple of hours of drawing was enough to reinvigorate my relationship with Him.

Doing something in worship allowed me to stay awake and focus on Him-- thus allowing me to be still and active at the same time.  And even as my roommates hung out, the simple act of drawing Jesus was enough to take me to a completely different mindset, allowing me to block out the distractions and remain intimate with Him.

So, if you're struggling with focusing on God, perhaps consider an activity that grabs ALL of your attention-- and do it for God.  For me it's drawing, for you it might be running or dancing or singing or playing the ukulele.

Whatever it is, just do it. (God is a far better brand than Nike =P )  I believe God likes to have fun with you, too.

After all, the Spirit of Joy ROCKS!

And have fun!