“Why do you contend against God, saying, ‘He will answer none of my words?’  For God speaks in one way and in two, though people do not perceive it.”  Job 33:13-14

“Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”  Revelation 2:7

Minnesota has experienced glorious, autumn days.  When people tell me to have a good day, I frequently answer “Just look out the window!”  Recently when I said this to a friend, I could tell by her face that looking out the window would not be enough for this day.

It seems there is hardly time to think about, talk to, listen for God with our worries and schedules.  I recall a book I read/reread in my college years: “Are You Running with Me, Jesus?”  by Rev. Malcolm Boyd.  Rev. Boyd participated in the Civil Rights Movement, was a Freedom Rider, and an anti-war activist.  He wrote a simple, little book of short prayers, when quiet times with God were hard to find, uttered while his life was “on the move”.

We have all known times when we wonder if God knows our stress and anxieties, why he doesn’t seem to be listening, when the glory around us won’t solve our problems, when our eyes won’t see, our hearts can’t feel.

God talks to us in different ways – joyful glory, or a brick on the head. a hurried prayer; at different times – witnessing birth and death, through the kindness of strangers, the touch of a friend.  God doesn’t need us to tell him what we need.  God needs us to trust that he will be present throughout the challenges of each day.

Dear God, we know you are running with us, fretting, waiting, working, doing chores with us.  Help us listen for you in our hurried, worried unexpectant times as well as in the mundane.  Open our eyes to your glory and grace.  Amen 

Verla Olson

 

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