“Hello Lord, here I am at midnight...again. Sorry to wake you, but
I’m too upset to sleep.”
I’ve developed the habit of talking to God about my
problems. My pastor calls it pouring our hearts out to the Lord – but I must
admit when my prayer starts I am just your typical, whiny kid.
Christ turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). Nothing less of a
miracle happens when God turns my whine into praise. Whether I’m struggling
with my job, a friend who has offended me, or a family member that has me
worried, God is available 24/7 to hear my whine list (see Matt 28:20).
Thankfully God has an infinite supply of patience. He knows when
I get done whining, I will be able to hear His still, small voice telling me
how much greater his love is for that person I am worried about. He turns my
worry into prayer and I am reminded that I can trust him with this person, too.
When I hit a stress point in my day, I gain a sense of relief knowing
I can journal about it the next morning. It’s like, “Ok. I’m taking it up with The
Boss in the morning.” Some things I take up with him right then and
there, but if it’s going to be lengthy, I save it for my journal. I wish I
could lay all my worries down right away–or not pick them up at all. Maybe
someday, when I am the mature Christian I long to be. For now I am definitely
that work in progress. I rely on my prayer journal, and nothing cures a sleepless
night like a 20-minute journal entry.
The great thing about talking to God is that he’s never too busy
for me—he has eternity, after all. We never get interrupted by His other kids—He
is quite the multi-tasker. He never gets called in to supper—the banquet table
must be open 24/7. He never grows tired of me calling, and he doesn’t mind if it’s
the middle of the night. He never gets tired of me rehashing some of our
tougher topics. He doesn’t say, “Don’t talk to me about this again until you’ve
done something about it!” like a human friend might do. He lets me tell the
same story over and over, until I am able to forgive. In fact, I don’t know if
I would be able to forgive without a prayer journal. Sometimes it takes a lot of words for me to reach the state of
choosing to forgive. He gives me all the time I need.
The amazing thing to me is even though He already knows
absolutely everything that has ever happened to me—and everything that ever will—and
knows absolutely every thought I have ever had or ever will, he doesn't grow
bored with my conversation.
Even though most of the time I start out with my usual whine (I
didn’t get my way, I didn’t get what I wanted, or someone was mean to me,) before
I’ve even finished laying it all out to him, he has already begun the work of
changing my heart. Within minutes, he has opened my eyes to another person’s
perspective, or directed my thoughts to how many blessings I have, or revealed
the need for forgiveness.
God is the Master of the Universe and knows all things (1 John
3:20). He helps me see things from the other person’s perspective and helps me
give them more grace. And I have the opportunity for my steps to be guided by
the Creator, the man in charge (Psalm 37:23, NKJV). When I whined about losing a job, he turned my thoughts toward his
provision in my husband’s job, our savings account and unemployment. When I
whined about a friend who offended me, God reminded me to be grateful for her
friendship and to forgive her. When I whined about my wish list not coming
true, he reminded me I was once again wishing for earthly security. Any
security I gain for myself is feeble and frail and can crumble at any moment.
The only true security comes from God.
Since I regularly discuss my whine list with God, I think it keeps the whine volume down for everyone else
in my life. In fact, I recommend parents send kids to their room to discuss their
whine list with God, instead of whining to you!
Need someone to listen? Give God a call. His schedule is never
full and He definitely has an open door policy.
Leave your comments below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Teresa Tierney is a freelance writer, wife, mother of two, grandmother of three. She blogs at www.RoadblocksToForgiveness.com You may contact her at T68114@gmail.com
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