Tag: assurance

Does God Really Want to Talk to You?

March 2, 2020 /

“Marco!”

I hear Katy’s voice above the hubbub of the cobblestone square in the old town of Geneva, Switzerland before I spot her. She’s using our “family finder” call and response from the swimming pool game we all played as kids.

It’s an unseasonably warm and sunny February day. Outdoor café tables are filled with happy coffee-drinkers, students studying, and kids on scooters play nearby.

“Polo!” I shout, spinning around searching the crowd for a beloved face.

We spot each other and run to hug with glee. Katy is in Geneva just for a day at the end of a business trip to Ethiopia, and John and I are finishing three months of serving an international church in Lucerne. Of course we’d take a train three hours to meet for lunch!

I’m not sure why this has stuck with me, prompting me to consider what God might want to show me.

I think of God calling out to Adam and Eve in the garden, asking exactly where they are getting their information. “Who told you that…?” (Implied, “Not me!”)

I think of God calling “Samuel” by name, and Samuel searching for where the voice is coming from. “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”

I think of the Lord speaking to Elijah – not in the wind or earthquake or fire, but in the still small voice that requires him to be silent, lean close, and reflect on God’s gentle question: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

I think of the Father saying “This is my Son with whom I’m well pleased” before Jesus has done any of the razzle-dazzle healings and miracles we may be tempted to believe are required for this affirmation.

What an amazing gift that God spots us always, everywhere. Stuck in traffic, changing diapers, walking to class, meeting with colleagues…

He calls “Marco! I’m here!” and longs for us to run to Him.

We lean in and say, “Polo! I’m listening, Lord.”

He delights in talking with us, speaking words of love, correction, and guidance over us.

Which of these promises is most meaningful to you today?

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

psalm 32:8

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

Jeremiah 33:3

 “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

isaiah 43:1

Maybe there are other words from God that come to mind. Share in the comments!

Also…Instagram is a place I love to hang out and connect. Join me there?

What Are Your Monuments?

September 28, 2015 /

As I write this John and I are in Washington D.C. for a few days of meetings and a chance to see our daughter and friends. Here, I am surrounded by monuments meant to remind us of the freedom we enjoy and the ways it was purchased at a high cost.

We lived here for a couple of years and are back frequently. Every time we come back we do new things, but we also return to visit the monuments we know.

Monuments help us remember our roots.

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Returning to these and remembering their significance brought to mind a time when God prompted me to go back to another kind of monument. Continue reading

A God of Cat and Mouse Games?

August 7, 2013 /

This week I was able to return to a place that is holy for me.  A place where God met me in a powerful way.  It’s a dock by a lake where our friends live in Wisconsin.

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The dock is a perfect place to spend some time reading in the early morning.  One of the things I love to do as I read my Bible is to date different promises or commands that have been meaningful to me, connecting with specific circumstances in my life. It’s such an encouragement when I see how personal and alive God’s word is to me – even if it’s convicting.

Many verses are dated with the name of one of our daughters as I have prayed the verses for them. Next to Psalm 16:8 is 10/9/09 and “Katy -job”.

Other verses (like Is. 42:13 and Is. 43:18,19) have dates with notes about prayers for guidance.

Psalm 9:9 says, “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” Next to it is written “Haiti”.

One of the most meaningful and important notations in my Bible is next to Matthew 7: 9-11. I wrote, “Beré’s dock, August 15, 2004.”

I had been going through a very difficult time, praying for direction and every time I thought a door was being open for me and I started to walk through, it was slammed in my face. August 15th of that year we were staying with our dear friends and I was sitting out on their dock early one morning, pouring my heart out to God.

I said, “It feels like you’re playing a game of cat-and-mouse with me and I don’t understand!!! Help!”

After I prayed, I was still and in the stillness God brought to mind a verse that I vaguely remembered – something like “If a son asks his father for bread, with he give him a stone? No! And how much more does your heavenly father want to give you?” I checked for the reference in my concordance and looked up the verses in Matthew 7, thankful for the personal reassurance from God, but He wasn’t done with me yet.

At the time I was also making a practice of reading in the Message paraphrase so I looked up Matthew 7:9-11 there. And this is what it says,

“Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust?… So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?”

The exact phrase I had used in my rant to God, He used in His word to me.

Hebrews 4:12 says God’s Word is living and active. But holy buckets!

Now although I see how God speaks personally to me through his Word daily, this dramatic experience isn’t a common occurrence.  Rather it was a gracious gift from God who saw his daughter desperate for encouragement.

Like post-it note reminders, the dates and names in my Bible are much needed records of His faithfulness over years of my stumbling along, falling down, and getting back up, forgiven and accompanied every step of the way by a patient, personal God.

What are some small, or dramatic ways God has reassured you of His presence?

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