Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Questions God Asks, Part 2


As I mentioned in my last post, sometimes God asks people questions, not because God doesn’t know something but because we need to know or acknowledge something that’s not clear to us in the moment.

The Book of Genesis tells us that God asked Cain, “Where is your brother?” God knew that Cain’s heart was very sick and that he had killed his brother Abel. God wanted Cain to see the state of his own heart.

Does God sometimes ask you questions? He does me. Tuesday I was having a conversation with a friend. My friend shared that he had recently had a moment of prayer, during which God asked him, “In one word what is it all about with you and Me?”

My friend kept talking and sharing what God had said to him during that moment. However, in my mind the moment I heard the question it was as if God had just asked it of me. Do you know the feeling? Is God asking you right now…

“In one word what is it all about with you and Me?”

I hesitate to share more at this point because if God is asking you this question I want you to pause and answer.

In the conversation I was able to recover from my own prayerful exchange with God and hear more of what my friend wanted to share with me. It blessed me to hear the one word my friend used to describe what it was all about with him and God. He believed that God had given him that word.

Likewise, I knew in that moment that God had given me the one word that popped into my thoughts. It was the word “abide”. And like a faucet that had been turned on, that one word led to a pouring out of the Scriptures found in John 15 where Jesus calls us to simply abide in Him.

I walked away from the conversation with my friend knowing that God had gently but profoundly called me into greater closeness with Himself, that I might abide/remain/live in Him.

If you have a different word I’d love to hear it.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the one word for me is "Trust".

Anonymous said...

God is saying "Further". Keep going. Don't give up. Have reverence for Me. Don't give up.

Anonymous said...

Patience. My husband is going through a hard time right now trying to find employment. At the same time, my job is going well, and while I'm so thankful to God for His provision for our family, I can't help but feel guilty and sad that my husband does not have the same experience. We have been praying about this for years, and I feel that God is telling me to be patient, that He knows our situation and we are in His hands. What a great place to be!

Anonymous said...

Distant. I want to be closer, but I'm giving in too easily. There's a war going on, and going to the dark side is far too easy.