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Hearing God

             Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

             But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

             “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

             “Come,” he said.

            Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:25-30)

 

            Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. (Luke 24:13-16)

 

 

            I’ve been reading about hearing God and thinking about seeking God. The chapter I’m reading now is sort of key to both ideas. How do you know when you “hear” something whether it’s God? Put another way, if you’re seeking God, who promises to be found, how do you know when you’ve found Him? Both the passages for today tell of times when even those who knew Jesus didn’t recognize Him. And given the facts that 1) I can look at relatives and not recognize them,  and 2) I have a strong need to get things right, this feels like a big issue to me.

            And like it or not, the answer seems to be… trial and error. You learn. You make mistakes and you trust God to cause all things to work together for good for you. Y.e.a.h. We’re supposed to please a perfect God by setting ourselves up to fail and pretend that it doesn’t matter if we do. That sounds a lot like one of the reasons I don’t make friends.

            But in saying that, I’m missing the point that hearing God and seeking God are precisely that – making friends with God. It’s easier to follow a nice list of rules, but God’s a person, not a list of rules.


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