The broom raked across the hardwood floor, scattering breakfast crumbs in its wake. My body went through the motions of daily routine, but my mind was wandering through the murky waters searching for God.
Are You Searching for God? He is Waiting for You
Trials of life were taking their toll. Hope for a secure future raced down a road leading through dark shadows and angry branches of despair.
“Nan,” I heard the Lord whisper to my weary spirit, “Come and sit with Me awhile.”
I increased my sweeping speed hoping the busyness would drown out the Holy Spirit’s prompting.
“Nan.”
My head dropped. Shoulders shrugged. Sweeping stopped.
“Yes, Lord?”
“Come and sit with Me.”
I leaned the broom against the kitchen counter, stepped over the pile of crumbs, and shuffled into my study. I curled up on the loveseat and opened my bible — one of those flop-it-open-and-see-where-it-falls kind of openings. Still reluctant in my obedience.
Little did I know the Lord had prepared a strong message for me. I began to read and soak in His living water.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11-14, NIV
Right in the middle of that passage – right after the one we love about the future God has prepared for us, and right before the one we love about searching for Him and finding Him – is this verse: “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to You.“
Call. Come. Pray.
God is Faithful to Hear Us When We Call
God emphasized to me, right there on my cozy loveseat, that He knew of my captivity to despair – how I wrestled over and over to maintain peace.
He assured me He would be faithful to complete the good work He had begun in me, and He would set me free.
He also wanted to remind me that He would show me great and mighty things of which I did not know – things that would give me a future and a hope.
But here’s the clincher …
He will be found by me and I will be released from my captivity after I COME and pray.
AFTER I come and pray.
In other words, He wants to be my first love. And yours. He wants us to come – to set ourselves apart from busyness to search for Him with all of our hearts. With no distractions. With no agenda. Just loving Him.
For it is in Him that we live, and move, and have our being.
In Him.
But if we are too busy or too complacent to place Him first in our long list of priorities, then it can be likened to standing in a river dying from thirst because we won’t take a drink. It’s like being held in chains while the key to freedom is in our pocket.
That road leading through dark shadows and angry branches of despair just came to a fork in the road. I think I’ll take the fork to the right.
SELAH
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Thank you so much for stopping by. I would love for you to share what’s on your heart in the comments below. Scroll a little farther down and you’ll see where you can leave your comments. Together, we can find the nearness of God in our darkest moments.
Sweet blessings to you,
Excellent and timely post, Nan. 🙂
Thank you so much Sally. I hope you are doing well.
Nan Thank You for Sharing !!
Thank you for taking time to stop by my site. I pray the Lord touched you in a special way.
Um, yeah. 2 peas in a pod this week on writing. Were you peeking over my shoulder at my notes again? LOL! Love this. God has certainly been calling for me to come and sit with Him, too. 🙂
LOL! I think the entire Body of Christ is getting a wake-up call. Hopefully we will ALL learn to listen and respond to His voice.