Listen!

Happy Monday!

Hope you are having a wonderful and productive day! Take a minute and think of one thing that you are grateful for thus far in the day. ✨ I appreciate, and I am grateful for, every one of you who reads my blogs! I started this blog with the sole intention of writing again and your support has assisted me tremendously!

Posting on Monday seems like the best option for this season as weekends I am extremely caught up juggling Tropsical and other responsibilities. It also lets me check in at the beginning of the week rather than the end. As I went through the week, I pondered what I would write about this week because I wanted to make sure that I did not skip today’s blog. Nothing was really standing out and I was wondering if I would find a topic. Usually I would get a thought and that thought would come up in random conversations or through some other confirmation. But truth be told, I feel like the communication between God and I has been a little cool lately. Thankfully I know why and have been making asjustments. And God always shows up! I was running through my to- do list and was wondering where I should even start and then I heard “just do it” and no, it wasn’t a Nike commercial.

Let me expand a little bit. God speaks to all of us but he communicates differently with each of us. Due to my relationship with God, I have a pretty good idea of when He is speaking to me. So I also know when it seems like He is quiet. And I know for a lot of us when things go silent, we automatically think we did something wrong and that may cause us to pull away rather than lean in. A few years ago I had a different thought. Sometimes when God is silent is because He has already spoken to us but we haven’t listened and done what needs to be done. The silence is more a reflection of our inaction than our wrongdoing. Let me try and give an example. As a mom, I have told my kids to clean up one set of toys or an area before moving on to something else. So if my daughter wants to play her Switch, she has to clean up her Barbies first. My two year old son likes to dump his containers out but before he can go to a second container, he has to clean up the first set of toys. But kids are kids, they can’t be bothered so sometimes I have to stop them in their tracks and remind them of the rule. And I have heard it all, they are tired, they need some water, and just all sorts of excuses as to why they can’t simply clean up. I listen to them express themselves and I am quiet but I know as soon as I open my mouth, I am only going to repeat what I have already told them. They have to clean up that area before moving on to something else. What if God is doing the same? As our Father, He tells us something and we get caught up telling Him we can’t do it. He may tell us to stop doing something that we really shouldn’t but we’re like; “it isn’t that bad” or “well I will stop soon”. And He listens and lets us do us, because He gave us free choice. But then when we come to Him and ask again, He will simply repeat what He already told us.

Sometimes obedience comes easy, other times we struggle. Especially when we feel like it’s a life changing decision. We can feel overwhelmed and wonder “why me” or “where do I even start”. When I was contemplating my to- do list, it seemed daunting. Then I decided to just pick one thing and do it. After that task was completed, I did another one. Slowly my to- do list was being completed. I am pretty sure I could have sat there for hours contemplating what to do and nothing would have gotten done. It’s the same when we hear from God. Even if we aren’t sure how we’re going to accomplish it, it’s important to start to do something. Start taking the first steps in the right direction. Don’t get me wrong. You do need to take some time to plan out what you have to do but once you know what is needed, action is required. Not sure if this example will work but let me try. Think of it as a video game. To move through the levels you need to accomplish certain tasks. The next level can’t be unlocked until you complete all tasks on this level. But if you spend all day thinking about the task and how to do it without actually picking up the controller and doing it, you will be stuck on the same level forever. If you are being nudged to do something, level up or make a change, trust that God will provide you with everything you need to accomplish the task at hand. Don’t let fear cripple you to inaction. Everything you want is on the other side of obedience.

So this week, take some time and notice how God speaks to you, listen to what He is telling you and take action! As always, remember “You got this”.