Blank space and the mountain

Once in college I had a marketing class and I needed to do a presentation in front of the whole class. I'm not a fan of "in front of the whole class."

The assignment was to come up with a thing to market, and try to sell it to our professor. I was coming up with nothing. For days and days, not one idea. It's hard to make an idea pop into your head on command.

Thankfully, one finally did come around midnight the night before it was due, and it was a good one, if I do say so myself. It was a commercial for Sonic (where I worked part-time while I was going to school). I think of this assignment every time I see a Sonic commercial now (think "Lil' Doggies"), and am sure they need my skills, lol. One day you'll see it on your TV, I'm just sure of it :)

I had to rush out to Walmart in the middle of the night to get poster boards and markers and whatever else I needed to make this happen. It turned out to be one of my favorite assignments of all 9 years of my 4-year degree :)

I'm getting sidetracked though... The point is, there are many times I want to have something to think/say/do, but draw a blank.

It's been like that lately with writing. I have had no words. Blank paper. Blank computer screen. Blank thoughts. I couldn't figure it out. I wanted to write. I wanted to do some blogs, to work on a book, but I was coming up with nothing. I have a journal of ideas, but even that was getting me nowhere. I wanted to share some words from God through my writing, but wasn't hearing any hints from Him.

Then it hit me. I hadn't been listening. I was praying, but not as intensely as I had been before. I became busy and let other things become a priority. I prayed for anyone who asked me to, I prayed over Facebook requests, and over some friends I knew who had been struggling. But I hadn't really had a talk with Jesus. And as for reading God's Word, not nearly as regularly as I had been before. It was no wonder I wasn't hearing His gentle nudgings when it came time to get out my laptop.

In my journal I had written about Moses. In Exodus 19, beginning in verse 20, it says, "The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain."

When Moses wanted to hear from God during this time, or God wanted to speak to him, Moses had to go to the mountain. Up and down he went, relaying messages to the people from God, interceding for the people when they had quickly turned their backs on Him. To have these conversations with God, he had to go to the mountain.

Where is my mountain? What are the conditions that I hear God best?

For me, it is quiet time alone, when I am not feeling rushed, and I can pour my heart out to God and read His Word, highlighter and ink pens in hand, ready to hear what He has to say. Those are the times I feel His direction.

If you, like me, have had a hard time hearing God lately, see if you need to refocus. That was definitely my problem. Though sometimes God's silence is for other reasons, this is a good place to start. If you still can't hear from Him, don't give up. Keep reading, keep praying, and keep looking and listening for Him. He is there.

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (NIV)

Jeremiah 33:3

Ten Sentences...

I need details.

If you ask me to do something, I am going to ask you 347 different questions to be sure I fully understand and am on board. 

I remember when I joined a small group of ladies who gathered weekly to focus on praying for our husbands - as we finished with introductions and small talk, we were about to pray. This being our first meeting, I needed specifics, so I asked. "Are we going to pray out loud?" "Are we all going to pray at the same time?" "Will we take turns going around the circle?" "How will we know the other person is finished?" "Who is going to cover which prayer requests?" "Will we each cover all of them, or each person take someone else's?" 

I didn't want surprises, or uncomfortable situations. I wanted to be prepared. 

While I don't think that's always a bad thing, there are times when God just wants to lead us, and keep some of the details from us until we are ready. And I should be fine with that, but I'm not.
I've been reading a lot about Christ's birth the last couple of weeks. In Luke chapter 1, Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel, starting in verse 26. 

Nevermind that I can't wrap my mind around what it must have been like to get a message from an actual angel, I am sure I couldn't have handled it as calmly as Mary did. 

Gabriel shows up, and after only 10 sentences, Mary is signing on the dotted line. 

"Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting his might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How can this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." 

Ten sentences, with very few direct details, and that's all she gets. But that seems to be all she needs. Her response is highlighted in hot pink in my Bible, reminding me to learn from her. Mary asked one question, and then here is her answer to Gabriel- 

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said." 

I want the faith and obedience of Mary. If I feel God nudging my heart to go/do/say, I want to say what she said. Instead, I am likely to say, "Are you sure?" "When?" "How?" "What if...?" 

I've got a lengthy list of questions I would want to ask if I was in her shoes, but she doesn't ask them. She trusts the God of the universe to take care of her and work out all the details, knowing He will provide. 

If you are like me, and want all the details of the task or calling God has given you, decide with me to change. The next time we feel God saying, "Here is your next assignment," we will say to Him, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." 

"But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.'"  - Psalm 31:14