Are You Missing Out on God’s Blessings?

For many people, this year’s Easter celebration is barely a memory. New fancy clothes have been put away and goodies left by the mythical rabbit are all gone—except maybe the ones still hiding among the fading daffodil leaves.

It’s been years since I’ve appreciated hiding colored eggs as an appropriate way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, this year God spoke to me through those colored eggs.

About a week after Easter, Shirley, a friend, reported on Facebook that she’d found three eggs still resting comfortably in the side yard. They were quite visible and easy to see even after the grass had grown for another week, so she wondered how they’d been missed.

A couple of weeks later, Shirley reported on Facebook that she had a dream about Easter eggs. She dreamed she was in the yard of her childhood and she discovered “an abundance of hidden Easter eggs” along the left side of the driveway. Many were lying out in the open, so it was unbelievable that they hadn’t been found. Consequently, in the dream, Shirley gathered “a bunch of kids” to hunt the eggs.

She said, “I gave specific directions as to where they [eggs] were and told them the boundaries. But they didn’t listen and still didn’t find them all and ran all over the place. I kept yelling to make them hear but they didn’t pay attention.”

Shirley added, “They should pay attention and follow directions! . . . I woke myself up yelling about where to find the eggs!”

I wonder, how close do you think the actions of the children in Shirley’s dream coincide with our lives as God attempts to bless us with special treats?

I’m afraid we have way too much in common with the children in the dream.

After all, our instructions are not just verbal. God orchestrated a lot of people to write down the directions, so we can refer back to them when we need clarification. He even included stories of people who’ve gone before us so we can know what leads to finding His blessing.

He also told us where to search, telling us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt. 6:33). And He gave us boundaries—the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17) and directions—the great commission (Mt. 28:19-20).

But, too often we’re like the children in the dream. We don’t pay attention or follow directions. Instead, we distract ourselves. We’re driven by our own lusts, by our friends, or the glitter of the world. We’re buried under activities, interests, and responsibilities and blinded by false hopes and dreams. Consequently, we miss the treasures and rewards that are waiting all around us.

Those blessings are waiting for us. We’ll find them if we listen to His voice and follow directions.

His voice. In the dream, Shirley was yelling at the kids. But the Lord rarely yells. First, He speaks in a gentle, loving whisper, inviting us to the prize. Any yelling or harsh encounter is used only as a last resort, when we need a drastic change of direction and we aren’t hearing Him call. If it is loud and harsh (such as a tragedy or difficult trial) it’s a sharp attempt to bring us back to the blessing that we’re missing.

Easter has passed, but the chance for heavenly blessings hasn’t. New life in Christ because of the resurrection is still very much available.

With the distractions within and around us, it’s easy to miss what God has for us.

The Lord longs to bless you and me, but He limits His special blessings to those whose hearts are His, those who love, fear, hear, and obey Him. It’s important that we listen and obey. (Ps. 128, Deut. 28,)

It’s been a long time since I hunted eggs and I’m ok with that. But I don’t want to miss a treat that the Lord has prepared for me. Especially if I’m the cause for missing out. Nor do I want the Lord to have to yell at me because I’m not paying attention.

Without Him and His blessings, I’m nothing. I need His love, joy, peace, and grace for each day. I also need the gifts of the Spirit and want to gather any and all the blessings He’s prepared for me. What about you?

Are You Listening?

Image result for image of listening ears Listening? I’m tired of listening. I’m tempted to block some people because their pressure for me to conform to their way of thinking wears me out. Protests, shouting, and strong language make me want to close my ears and turn my back.

Even people with compatible viewpoints try my patience when they push hard and feel manipulative, as they try to force their opinion or agenda.

Force. That’s the problem. When someone pushes me, I want to push back, or to turn away.

Either reaction deepens the divide. Whether between individuals, political parties, or nations, pushing widens the schism.

In the political world, protests have become the means of communication, with name-calling, fact-twisting, and fear mongering used as weapons of war. Deeper divides are the fruit of such tactics. It doesn’t bring peace any better than a husband and wife screaming and yelling at each other. It only leads to deeper hurt and a wider rift.

Healing, peace, and unity come from laying the “anti” sentiments aside and settling down to really hear the other side. True listening seeks to identify hurts, fears, dreams, and goals of the other person.

The problem often stems from opposing ideologies and goals, but compromise is impossible without real dialogue. Indeed, influencing the opponent to change is also impossible if we maintain an us-versus-them attitude, where our goal is to defeat them rather than to work together.

Paul Tournier, a Swiss physician, and author of To Understand Each Other, said, “Listen to all the conversations of our world, those between nations as well as those between couples. They are for the most part dialogues of the deaf. Exceedingly few exchanges of viewpoints manifest a real desire to understand the other person. No one can find a full life without feeling understood at least by one person. Misunderstood, he loses his self-confidence, he loses his faith in life, or even in God.”

I would add, “Misunderstood, he fights harder to be heard and to be understood.” When both sides feel misunderstood, the fight intensifies. Furthermore, the ability to hear diminishes, decreasing the effectiveness of all the effort put into being heard and understood.

Proverbs sums it up well. “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him” (Prov. 18:13). You might say, “He who yells and screams to be heard (without first hearing the other side) is wasting his breath. His efforts are futile and lead only to shame.”

In fact, the result often leads to negative results. Proverbs 15:1 states that “a harsh word stirs up anger,” whereas “a soft answer turns away wrath.”

Do you want to dial down the anger and soften the rhetoric. Remember that “a soft answer turns away wrath.”

Softer, kinder rhetoric would be nice, but peace and working together in unity would be even better.

We probably won’t find that until the other side knows we’ve heard them and that we care. A soft answer, rather than anger, on our part is a good start, but we need to listen to what they’re saying.

If we don’t make an effort to listen, we will continue to have dialogs of the deaf, where nobody pays attention to the other side. We will continue to be isolated and alienated.

Listening doesn’t mean agreement in every case, but sometimes it leads to a point at which there is agreement. It does mean that I lay aside my agenda long enough to seek understanding and to show respect and caring for the other person.

Ask, “Can you help me understand?” and “In addition to that, is there anything else?” If they know they’ve been heard, they’ll be more open to hear you.

Until that happens, how will we ever be able to work together rather than spend all our energy fighting?

By listening, you can make a difference.

Listening says, “I care. You are important. Your hopes, fears and opinions matter because you matter.”

Are you listening?

It’s Hard to Pray . . .

Have you ever been in the middle of family tension—i.e. a fight—just before a meal?

Everybody sits down to an awkward silence because nobody wants to pray. It’s hard to pray in an angry atmosphere, especially if you are part of the ruckus.

When the privilege falls to me, my first reaction is, “I don’t want to—I don’t know what to say.” I feel dry, like a dry creek bed with nothing to flow. Next, I feel guilty because I don’t want to talk with God.

Then I mentally scramble to come up with a meaningful prayer that is sincere. But that’s hard to do until I move beyond my anger–or at least set it aside so I can face God.

Several days after somebody said, “It’s hard to be angry when you’re praying,” somebody told me, “It’s hard to pray when you’re angry.”

Both are true.

Anger erects a wall between us and God, making it difficult to connect with the One who gives life and fellowship.

If it’s hard to talk with God when we’re mad, how does it affect our capacity to receive the grace needed to deal with our anger? Or with the situation that made us mad?

However, when it’s difficult to talk with God, that is precisely the time we most need to do so.

If we go to Him with an open heart, being honest about our struggles, He’ll receive us. In fact, He is our deliverer and strong tower. If we run to Him when we’re in trouble, we’ll move through our struggle much more quickly than if we try to handle it on our own.

Tell the Lord how you feel, and why. Use Him for a dumping ground.

But, listen as you talk. Listen to yourself. And listen to God.

If you’re anything like me, once the steam is released a little, you’ll hear yourself and think, “Oh, that’s not good!” and it will be about something you said or did. Next, you’ll see that your attitudes don’t glorify God. Before you know it, it becomes hard to point fingers at the other person because too many are pointing back home.

I have vivid memories of how I handled anger as a teen. With six of us crowded into a small home, there was no escape when tensions flared, so I’d retreat to the piano. I’d race through a vigorous, angry piece, tearing up the keys with pent up emotion.

Sometimes I played it twice before moving on to something else that was full of energy. A hymn book offered more selections, and they became more and more mellow, until I closed with peace in my heart, often playing “Sweet Hour of Prayer.”

I didn’t realize it then, but I believe God was directing me in a time of prayer as I played. He let me blow off steam and then spoke to me through the words of the hymns. It would not have worked to start with “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” I had to dump first, to get out the emotion so I could move beyond it. That’s fine with God. He’s bigger than our rants. He can handle them.

The important thing is to have an open heart so He can also speak to us. As we dump, we need to listen to ourselves, listen to God, and repent for the bad attitudes and actions He shows us.

It is hard to pray when we’re angry, but if we’ll run to Him, He’ll hear us, speak to us, and draw us to Himself. In God’s presence, anger dissipates as we soak in the knowledge of His love, power, and goodness toward us.

Do you find it difficult to pray when you are angry? How do you move back into fellowship with God?

Robert & Kay Camenisch encouraging and equipping relationships