Finding God through our restlessness. How will you respond?

With six months of pandemic upon us, it would be perfectly normal to be restless right about now.  Here’s the thing, I have been more than a little restless lately. It shows up in everything I do. I can’t focus on work, daily task or even in my prayer life. I’m fidgety and anxious. However, I never thought this might be God speaking to me.

God is always trying to get our attention.

As I listened to a sermon by a popular TV minister on YouTube, I couldn’t believe when he said, “God is speaking to you through your restlessness.” My jaw dropped and I wondered if he could somehow see directly into my soul. Pondering his words, I thought, “What could God be trying to tell me?”

I never thought God might be trying to get my attention through this unsettled feeling. Maybe this is God’s way of inviting me to come and sit with Him a while.

I think we are all a bit restless these days. The question is what are we going to do with our restlessness?

Do you heed to the restlessness? Do you yield to the calling of the Father?

I have a friend who converted her unused spare bedroom into a prayer room. When it was finished, she insisted I come over to see it. As I entered room, immediately, I felt the presence of God. When I sat in the room, I could hear God saying, “Stay here a while.” Not audibly. It was like a inner whisper to my weary soul.

God longs to commune with us. To refresh our souls in the presence of His glory.

Did you know the definition of ‘commune” is to communicate intimately. God desires to communicate intimately with us. But we have to go to Him in order to do this. It’s a response to the call.

Do you take time to commune with God? Do you sit with God in the morning over coffee? Or in your car on the way to work? Or in the sanctity of your prayer room?

My friend, Rich Lewis, wrote an incredibly thought-provoking book on centering prayer entitled Sitting with God. In it, he writes,“When I practice centering prayer, I respond to the invitation to sit with God (Revelation 3:21). When I center like Jesus, I say, “Not what I want but what you want” (Mark 14:36). I sit in silence to be loved and healed by God. Silence creates a space for me to heal. The space created by silence and stillness helps me find my equilibrium, my center of gravity. “

God is always inviting us. How will you respond? 

God is inviting us to come and sit with Him. In this sacred space, God loves and heals us.

Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

I think when we sit with God, God replenishes our souls and we find rest. As I am writing this blog, my cellphone dings indicating an incoming text. Typically, I put my phone away while writing to cut down on distractions. But today, I did not. As I reach for my phone, I realize it is a group text from a local pastor. It reads, “Availability is more important to God than ability. Can you make yourself available to God, to pray, listen or serve today?”

I don’t know if God is speaking to you, but God is speaking to me. These are the places where I find God. These are the sacred moments where God is speaking directly to me, inviting me to come. But it is up to me to respond.

Last week I wrote a blog entitled Where Do You Find God? Your response was unbelievable. Through your comments and shares, you helped me realize just like I am hearing God, so are many of you. Finding God is not so hard. The hard part is in the response.

Let us pray: God of all that is, thank you for speaking to us even through our restlessness. Thank you that you never leave us nor forsake us. Help us to be eager to come to You when we are weary and when we are settled. Let us rest in the assurance that we will always find love and healing in your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen. -M

Wanna go deeper? Ask yourself, could God be speaking to me through my restlessness? What can I do to make myself more available to God today? What benefits do I find when I sit with God? Consider journaling your response.