You’d think I would “get” this by now.

Why can’t I remember that it’s only when I’m incredibly thirsty that I truly long for water?

And its only when I’m extremely tired that I’m truly aware of the simple blessing of being able to crawl into a warm, comfortable bed at night.

And it’s not until I’ve lost something that I treasure that I’m really able to understand just how much it means to me.

I wonder if that’s one of the reasons God shares so many stories of “lost things” being “found” and how much joy is felt in that moment of discovery?

I wonder if that’s why God seems to distance Himself from me at times?

Is the search for Him something I require in order to truly grasp just how much I need Him?

 He knows what it takes to get my attention.

He knows how to stop me in my tracks.

If “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” it makes sense that God would choose to back away from time to time——-

give me space to miss Him, need Him, long for Him.

If I took a pencil and drew my life out on a timeline, I think my line would look more like a sound wave, rippling up and down as it moved across the paper.

Because my life has been anything but flat.

It’s been a continual series of spiritual highs and lows, and I think if I were asked to create a visual of my life I would begin to notice a pattern……………..

Every time I begin to take for granted the presence of God in my day-in and day-out journey, He quietly and respectfully allows me the space to walk without Him.

He’s never been forceful.

He’s never been demanding.

But, I do believe He’s slipped to the corner of my life by choice many times,

because when He does,

I notice.

And I stop.

Suddenly, all that I’m doing and saying and being seems to be meaningless as I realize He’s not right there in the middle of it all.

He’s slipped to the back row quietly without me even noticing, and He’s watching and waiting.

Patiently waiting for me to miss Him.

Like a father who goes to the nursery to pick up his child after church, He stands in the doorway and observes the playtime without making a sound.

I hope He smiles as He watches.

I hope He enjoys the view of us living on this earth with a sense of security in His love.

 I have to believe His smile grows biggest, though, when we turn from all our toys and friends and the noise of our “big -people nurseries” and we see Him standing there……………….

and we run to Him.

Arms wide open.

I’m running to Him this morning, because I’m incredibly aware of how He’s stepped back far enough for me to start glancing from side to side……………..and I don’t want to lose sight of Him in the busyness of this world.

I don’t want to walk one more step without His hand in mine.

I need Him.

Like a desert-weary traveler, I can’t survive without water.

Living Water.

If He seems silent in your life today, maybe He is for a reason.

Stop.

Look around.

He’s there.

He’s just waiting for you to cry out to Him.

God never left Job’s side, yet listen to Job,

“I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me.” 

God had a plan for Job’s life that required a time of silence.

He has a plan for your life too.

Jesus understood who would appreciate the blessings of Heaven most when He shared the beatitudes.

Matt. 5:4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Matt. 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

If you’re feeling a little distance between you and God this morning,

be thankful.

It’s in the awareness of missing Him that you suddenly begin to start searching.

When God seems silent,

He is often speaking the loudest.

Listen for His silence today.

And run to Him………….

arms wide open.