Setting Focus

Something a little different today . . .

My granddaughter posted a quote by Bob Dylan on her blog today. It goes like this:

"Jesus put his hand upon me. It was a physical thing. I felt my whole body tremble."

I understand that kind of touch. I’ve felt it too! And yeah, I believe there was a time in Bob’s life when he really did know the touch of God. Some of his songs definitely portray that time, and we need to pray that he will return to that. I really believe he will in the end, that he will be sorry for all the wasted years. And it's a good lesson that we need to be less hard on our fellow Christians . . . especially the ones who are out there in celebrity world facing all kinds of hard stuff.

But let’s talk about that touch that makes us tremble.

I think it’s true that a lot of us are looking for that touch on a daily basis, and it doesn’t quite work like that. I mean, I’m a writer, and I would definitely like God’s touch on my writing every day . . . for my words to sing and make a difference and have an impact . . . wow! That would be way cool.

But truth is, sometimes I have to pull the words out one word at a time . . . ugh! And when I reach the end of the page, I wonder why anyone would ever want to read any of it. Then, a week later, it starts looking good to me and I realize that God was in it, even when I didn’t realize he was there.

I was aware of His presence after the fact when I painted my granddaughter, Jocelyn Danielle, over Easter weekend. She was in my prayers the whole time and then she was in that horrible accident that I truly believe would have been much worse if God hadn’t spoken to my heart to pray for her. Yet, I didn’t even realize He was speaking. I didn’t feel his trembling touch.

Here's something to try . . . make three appointments with God this week . . . really! Look at your schedule (or make a schedule . . . and set apart three different times to meet with God for at least one hour. Decide now, where the place will be . . . some place quiet, without interruption (perhaps the beach, the mountains, your room with the door closed and everyone knowing you do not want to be disturbed), the basement of your church. And pick a passage of scripture that you will focus on during these three appointments. Also, very important, have a journal or notebook and pen ready for the words God will speak to you. Part of your time should be in prayer, part in scripture and part in worship . . . any combination of the three, but make sure it's all directed at God. Okay, you're all ready. Now do it.

It's different than your morning devotions in that you are stopping everything to meet with God. It's way cool. And EXPECT to hear from Him! I think you will be amazed later when you go back over your journal entries and read what you wrote. Like Elihu says in the book of Job . . . God does speak . . . we simply need to learn to listen. You get better and better at this as you go. Sometimes I simply copy words out of the bible that jump out at me, then when I look back over those words, I see a very definite message. God's word is powerful if used in the right way. Some of my best songs have come out of these appointment times.

Truth is, most of the time I feel God , (that trembling Bob Dylan talked about) more than I hear God but I do have times when I absolutely know I've heard God and it's so powerful, so very close to being an audible voice, that I've actually answered him out loud. Most of the time, I simply know God is here and directing my paths because the outcome is so amazing. Like when I was painting Jocelyn Danielle's picture and praying for her and then she was in that wreck. God knew all along. God is so incredibly cool.

So, in the midst of our writing and painting and drawing and taking photos and living . . . let’s encourage one another to make connections with the One who gave us the ability to do these things in the first place. If the outpouring is getting old or tedious or boring or? Then, it’s a safe bet we need to refocus.