Series: Renewal
Colossians 3:17 ESV
I used to think praying about everything and listening with the intent of making choices in the name of the Lord would make life “hunky dory”.
I was wrong.
Being young, I oversimplified life with God.
It’s not that there are times when God just doesn’t show up…it’s more about the complexity of God and God’s plans for us.
Think of it this way…we have a very narrow view of life. We know what happened yesterday and we can know some things in the moment. We can also listen and have some idea what God has for us in the future, but the future is still mostly unknown and it can change. God gave man the right to make choices, and the choices we make can be drastically changed by choices other people make. Even though we didn’t make the choice there are times when other people make choices that impact us.
Take marriage for example. Even if two people who are married are praying, one partner can pray and make a choice and the other partner can make a choice that doesn’t exactly fit the choice the other partner made.
Sometimes even without knowing it, the choice one partner makes impacts the overall future of both.
That’s one reason marriage/partnerships are difficult. Constant communication is essential. That communication is between partners but it also involves God when both partners are praying and listening. Still, while that increases the likelihood of a good relationship, it’s not set in stone.
Personalities, family history, and a whole host of other factors are at play in the relationship as well.
In Colossians 3:17 Paul offers help when praying and listening, “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Even when we are in a relationship with one other person (for example a friendship) communication is essential. Constant communication is essential.
In one of my early communication courses in college we played several games that require communication.
One game we played began when one person thought of a brief phrase that is whispered to the person next to them in the circle who tells the next person. The brief phrase is repeated all the way around the circle so every person in the circle has heard the same phrase.
Then the last person says the phrase to the first person who started the initial phrase.
I’ve played this same game several times in different groups and the phrase always came back to the first person with a different phrase (sometimes very different) than the initial phrase.
In communication class in college when we played the game we were all trying very hard to enunciate and speak the exact words to the next person.
It was a game to us…a challenge of sorts.
We were trying to prove to the communication professor that we could correctly repeat the phrase and it would be exactly like the initial phrase.
Even when we tried to repeat it carefully, the phrase changed.
The lesson for us in the classroom was that communication is fluid.
Always changing.
In the case of today’s scripture we remember we are human.
We are not perfect.
We can try to do and speak clearly and communicate well, but we are not perfect.
But here’s the thing about communication when it’s done in God’s name…even though we are still human, God shows up. We can make mistakes but when we invite God into the conversation God can make it a God moment.
God can make things right, miraculously right. Even if it was a matter of gossip, God’s love can “fix” it. That’s because God’s love can “fix” anything when we invite the divine “IN”.
I would love to be able to tell you exactly how that happens, but I can’t. I wish I could explain how God intervenes, but I don’t know. That’s because it’s a God thing. It’s a miracle. We remember we are human and God is divine.
The Good News is that Jesus was both. Jesus was fully human and fully divine. So, He understood how it happened and even why it happened because He had all the emotions and feelings of being human. Because He was fully divine, He knew how to help humans communicate better with each other and with God.
Thank God for the hunky dory help!
Spiritual Practice: Communicate
Think of a time when God helped you (covered you) and tell God thank you.
In God, Deborah
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