Finding God in Life

One thing I think happens when we face life's tough times is that it makes us think... especially when the though times are long-lasting. It is easy to get into a rut in our thinking. If we are honest, we would have to wonder if it was real thinking at all. If thinking is defined as "a process of thoughts," or thinking something through to a conclusion or an end, mere thoughts passing through our minds do not necessarily qualify as true thinking.

We can easily get caught up in a "comfort zone of thinking, or become satisfied with our mind focusing on the "status quo." We can become content with the thoughts of the community; whether it is a family, church, town or any other type of community. The danger of becoming satisfied with our thoughts regarding the things of God is that we can miss God all together, sometimes by only thinking "about" God, or having false beliefs about Him.

Proverbs gives us a warning. It says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Prov. 16:25, NIV) We must always be on guard, never becoming careless regarding our belief or opinion.

It was during an abrupt change in my daily schedule that caused me to pause and consider my "conversations" with God. I wondered if they were truly conversations with Him. Was I merely reciting religious phrases, followed by my list of desires? I also had to decide if I was following Him "faithfully" when things were going good, and becoming less "dedicated" if things were going against my expectations. A decision like that reveals if we are serving Him, or if we are expecting Him to serve us. True service means that I stay steady if things are going good or if they are going bad. To abandon Him, or feel I "need a change" because the "going gets rough," reveals my expectation of God, and my lack of dedication to Him. What a devastating mistake that could be.

My prayer-life has been changing. I believe I am far from what it will eventually become, but I have decided to never be satisfied with my prayer-life. God is "unfathomable." There is always more of Him to learn and experience. There is always room for growth in our prayer-life. James said, "Come near to God and He will come near to you." (James 4:8a, NIV) We can never come to the place where we can say, "Oh, I have already done that." It is an ongoing relationship. It is always possible to hear God call us to "come closer." I want to experience God like that.

That's just something to think about.

"Lord, thank you for the tough times that direct my attention to you. Amen."