Do you say yes without hesitation, suit up with your study bible, telephone your mentor, schedule quiet time then dive into whatever it is He's asked you to do?
If so, I deeply admire you.
Or do you say yes, with a little bit of hesitation, suit up with your easy to understand bible (because most American Christians have more than one bible), send an email to four or five of your closest confidants, figure out a few hours you can set aside for reflection then go into a kind of mental awareness of what He's asked you to do?
If so, I deeply respect you.
Or do you say yes, out of obligation as a seasoned believer, you forget your bible but then remember to grab it, you sent a text message to one or two friends you haven't talked to for awhile because you've been too busy, you're not sure if you can dedicate any time to what God is asking you to do but you figure what the heck, you've skated by before, certainly you can do it again?
If so, I recognize your laziness.
What if you don't hear anything?
What if God asks you to do something and it falls on deaf ears?
Then what?
If so, God is no longer alive in you.
You may be going to church. You may have given your sin and life to Jesus on the cross. You may be involved in serving and using your spiritual gift. You may be active in a small group. You may be tithing.
But friend, there is no evidence of God being alive in you. God didn't send Jesus just to save us from our sin and an eternity in hell. He wants an eternal relationship with us. He, the Father, us, His Son or Daughter. Intimate, Close, Conversational, Laughter, Tears, Joyful and Comforting.
If your ears have never or no longer hear Him calling you to Him, the reason I've been taught is this: there is an area of sin blocking your relationship with God that needs to be dealt with. I've had this happen. I attest to the separation I felt from God, the loneliness, the sadness, the guilt and the shame. I needed to confess to my mentor and to God the sin I was involved in then be absolved of the sin I'd committed, fully healed and fully restored. Until that happened, God separated himself from me.
Afterward, I read Scripture. The Bible is often described as God's Love Letter to Us. Whenever I find myself feeling a little separated from God, not necessarily from sin, I remind myself that I always have His thoughts toward me. He didn't keep them a secret. They're all right here for me to meditate on.
Enjoy "God's Not Dead" from the Newsboys:
