Can You Hear Me Now!

When my oldest son was very young he wandered off from me, in a major department store, after I told him several times not to. I always knew where he was, but he had moved into a position where he couldn't see me. After a few minutes he finally called out to me. At first I didn't respond because I thought he saw me. Then his cry got stronger and louder, he didn't see me looking at him. I called his name and he began to look for me frantically. I called his name again....this time I moved closer to where he was. He could hear me but couldn't see me, but he began to realize that I was somewhere close.

This is so often our story. We wander off from God and then realize we can't see Him, yet we hear Him calling out to us. God always knows where you are, always knows what you are doing and is only a call away. And if you listen closely and don't panic, you can hear Him and realize that He's not that far off from you. You may have wandered off, even been gone for a while, but He is still very close to you.

I attend a pretty large church and, to me, the seats are divided up like a sports arena. So I refer to the sections in that manner. Sect 100 is close to the pulpit. Sect 200 is the area behind our camera crew and the aisle way. And then the balcony is Sect 300 with a nose bleed section. I usually try to sit in Sect 100 so I can see and so I'm not easily distracted by the things in front of me. One Sunday I sat with a Ministry Leader and ended up in Sect 200. I was very uncomfortable at this point. I decided to make the most of it and embrace this slight shift from my comfort zone.

When we chose our seats, the people in the row in front of us were sitting down as service hadn't started yet. But when it did and we all stood up for Praise and Worship, I realized that I had sat behind a Sycamore tree wearing 3 inch heels with a weave that seemed to reach into the heavens. I'm only 5"3" mind you. Oh my goodness!!! No problem, I'll just lean to the opposite side and then I'll be able to see the pulpit. NOT! So I tried watching the jumbo tron in front of us. No luck with that either and the other jumbo tron that was in my view was out of service this particular Sunday. If I swayed to the right....so did she. If I leaned to the left.....there she was too.

By now I am so frustrated because I am a visual person and I like to see the service as well as experience it. So in my mind I scream, "I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!!!!". God responds quickly and very gently, "Can you hear me?" "Yes" "Then that's all you need right now. You won't always be able to see what I'm doing, but if you can hear me then you are still on the right path".

God speaks to us always. We have to be less concerned with seeing Him and what He is doing and more focused on what He is saying to us. Bishop Neil Ellis, from the Bahamas,  recently visited our church and shared with our congregation, "trust Him (God) on just revelation, don't wait on observation". In order to trust Him in revelation, you must hear Him. He is talking to you. He knows where you are when you wander off from Him. And He knows when things are blocking your view so you can't see or focus on Him. His voice is your guide, hearing it assures you that you aren't too far away from Him. So.....can you hear Him now?

Luv Ya!
IB