Have You Stopped Communicating?
“We just don’t seem to talk to each other,” Mary sobbed. “All you do is come home, wash down your dinner, watch telly and mumble a word or two. We might as well be two strangers living together. Our marriage just seems so dead”
Mary and John had been married a little over two years. Theirs had been a whirlwind, passionate courtship followed by a grand, elaborate wedding.
Mary had glowed on her wedding day. What a beautiful, glorious June day it had been. Exquisitely dressed in an ivory wedding dress adorned with intricate pearls, she had looked breathtakingly beautiful. John had stood proudly next to his new bride. With an imposing height, dressed in an expensive suit, no-one could argue they were anything but a handsome pair.
They quickly settled down to married life. John was a barrister in the City, Mary a school teacher. Young, in love with many ambitious plans they planned their future excitedly. They bought a lovely house in the country. They were both country bumpkins and Mary adored gardening. They would enjoy married life together for a couple of years before starting a family, they had agreed. Life was bliss. It was so good. They had many expectations and the future seemed bright.
Not too long afterwards, John was passed over for promotion. Frustrated, he became withdrawn, cold and distant. He seemed to recoil into a world that shut Mary out. He appeared to blame Mary, picked holes here and there. He still loved Mary but she felt the passion in their marriage was losing momentum. She felt isolated. She loved John too but with a lack of communication and with constant accusations flung at her, their marriage seemed doomed to fail.
In many ways, Mary and John are what we are like with our relationship with God. In the beginning, when we become Christians, we are often euphoric, on top of the world. We fall in love with God, we love spending time with Him. As we get to know Him, we become rejuvenated, elated even! We become new creatures. We vow that we will always strive to abide in His presence. We will always remain true to Him.
Then challenges come. “Err…I thought that now I have found God, life will be plain sailing”, you cry. You become frustrated. You start thinking God has deserted you. Yes, you know or rather thought you knew, that God is never too far away. Right now, however, at this precise moment in time, how come it seems that God appears to have abandoned you? Or you start thinking the reason you are in this current predicament is due to sin.
Slowly and quietly, before you even notice, you start to withdraw from God. You soon stop reading your bible. Well, maybe, you only read it now and again. Also, you can’t seem to find the words to pray. You are angry at your situation, maybe even angry with God. The last person you want to communicate with is God. Result, your relationship with Him begins to crumble before your very eyes. You start slipping back into old, wrong habits. You now live a life that really does not truly glorify God.
God has said in His Word, He will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus said ‘In this world, you will have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome them all”. God’s word never promises that we will not be faced with tests, trials and challenges.
In the same way as every relationship is tested, so our relationship with God will be tested. Our adversary, satan will always seek to question our commitment and test the strength of every meaningful relationship. We must be vigilant and know the wiles of the enemy. We must develop a trust with God at all times because He has overcome that situation troubling you. Therefore we must open the communication lines.
Just as a lack of communication in any relationship results in it’s breakdown, so too if we cease praying, we will find that we eventually become weak Christians. We must remain firmly rooted in all things of God, seeking His presence, spending time in His Word and praying.
The Word says if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. In those gloomy moments of despair when all seems lost, God is surprisingly, right there beside you. He just wants you to reach out to Him. Tell Him your hurts, your disappointments, your dreams, your desires. Anything! Big, enormous, small and tiny! He yearns so much to listen to you. He is oh so willing!
The Word says He is near to all who calls on Him. How near are you to your Heavenly Father now? Just like Mary feels John is far away from her because he does not communicate, similarly, you distance yourself from God when you stop talking to Him.
John had not realised the walls of silence he had enclosed himself in had been hurting his wife so deeply. Over time, he learnt to lift the communication barriers. He learnt that by talking, listening and opening up, he could share his concerns and so ultimately save his fast decaying marriage. Together they could face this trial and with renewed optimism.
All it takes for Heaven to move on your behalf is to pray. Communication has power just as prayer has power. Lift the barriers today and get communicating. Get praying. God is at the other end of the communication line waiting to take your call.
© August 2006
Mary and John had been married a little over two years. Theirs had been a whirlwind, passionate courtship followed by a grand, elaborate wedding.
Mary had glowed on her wedding day. What a beautiful, glorious June day it had been. Exquisitely dressed in an ivory wedding dress adorned with intricate pearls, she had looked breathtakingly beautiful. John had stood proudly next to his new bride. With an imposing height, dressed in an expensive suit, no-one could argue they were anything but a handsome pair.
They quickly settled down to married life. John was a barrister in the City, Mary a school teacher. Young, in love with many ambitious plans they planned their future excitedly. They bought a lovely house in the country. They were both country bumpkins and Mary adored gardening. They would enjoy married life together for a couple of years before starting a family, they had agreed. Life was bliss. It was so good. They had many expectations and the future seemed bright.
Not too long afterwards, John was passed over for promotion. Frustrated, he became withdrawn, cold and distant. He seemed to recoil into a world that shut Mary out. He appeared to blame Mary, picked holes here and there. He still loved Mary but she felt the passion in their marriage was losing momentum. She felt isolated. She loved John too but with a lack of communication and with constant accusations flung at her, their marriage seemed doomed to fail.
In many ways, Mary and John are what we are like with our relationship with God. In the beginning, when we become Christians, we are often euphoric, on top of the world. We fall in love with God, we love spending time with Him. As we get to know Him, we become rejuvenated, elated even! We become new creatures. We vow that we will always strive to abide in His presence. We will always remain true to Him.
Then challenges come. “Err…I thought that now I have found God, life will be plain sailing”, you cry. You become frustrated. You start thinking God has deserted you. Yes, you know or rather thought you knew, that God is never too far away. Right now, however, at this precise moment in time, how come it seems that God appears to have abandoned you? Or you start thinking the reason you are in this current predicament is due to sin.
Slowly and quietly, before you even notice, you start to withdraw from God. You soon stop reading your bible. Well, maybe, you only read it now and again. Also, you can’t seem to find the words to pray. You are angry at your situation, maybe even angry with God. The last person you want to communicate with is God. Result, your relationship with Him begins to crumble before your very eyes. You start slipping back into old, wrong habits. You now live a life that really does not truly glorify God.
God has said in His Word, He will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus said ‘In this world, you will have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome them all”. God’s word never promises that we will not be faced with tests, trials and challenges.
In the same way as every relationship is tested, so our relationship with God will be tested. Our adversary, satan will always seek to question our commitment and test the strength of every meaningful relationship. We must be vigilant and know the wiles of the enemy. We must develop a trust with God at all times because He has overcome that situation troubling you. Therefore we must open the communication lines.
Just as a lack of communication in any relationship results in it’s breakdown, so too if we cease praying, we will find that we eventually become weak Christians. We must remain firmly rooted in all things of God, seeking His presence, spending time in His Word and praying.
The Word says if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. In those gloomy moments of despair when all seems lost, God is surprisingly, right there beside you. He just wants you to reach out to Him. Tell Him your hurts, your disappointments, your dreams, your desires. Anything! Big, enormous, small and tiny! He yearns so much to listen to you. He is oh so willing!
The Word says He is near to all who calls on Him. How near are you to your Heavenly Father now? Just like Mary feels John is far away from her because he does not communicate, similarly, you distance yourself from God when you stop talking to Him.
John had not realised the walls of silence he had enclosed himself in had been hurting his wife so deeply. Over time, he learnt to lift the communication barriers. He learnt that by talking, listening and opening up, he could share his concerns and so ultimately save his fast decaying marriage. Together they could face this trial and with renewed optimism.
All it takes for Heaven to move on your behalf is to pray. Communication has power just as prayer has power. Lift the barriers today and get communicating. Get praying. God is at the other end of the communication line waiting to take your call.
© August 2006
posted by Blessed Blogger at 1:16 AM
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