This world offers a multitude of distractions. It’s easy to miss God’s obvious glory. We even question His existence. “Where are you, God? Make yourself known, be apparent, show up!”
I’ve demanded these things from God way more than I would care to admit. My questions usually happen when I’ve reached the limit of my own power. I have hit my wits’ end. It’s here I find myself questioning God, and how “real” He is. God’s nature is not to be annoyed with us, but I often times picture Him rolling His eyes at me. “I WAS there, Katie. I AM here! LOOK!”
Intimacy
I wish I could experience, just for a moment, the intimacy Adam and Eve had with God. To walk with Him, talk with Him, see His majesty. But, we all know, this isn’t possible until we reach Heaven. Oh, that stinkin’ sin! Just like that, the whole of humanity was separated from God.
But God was ahead of this sin. He knew it would come and prepared our temporary home for it. He poured His glory into every bit of this Earth. His fingerprint is in everything. Everything! He knew our human limits needed the obvious.
For the truth about God is known to them instinctively; God has put this knowledge in their hearts. Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power.
Romans 1:19-20, TLB (emphasis added)
But Satan likes to make us believe we are alone, that God has abandoned us; He’s not real. That’s so easy to believe because we can’t “see” God in the flesh. We can’t see Satan in the flesh either, so what’s the hangup?
God knew our human limits needed the obvious. He poured His glory into every bit of this Earth. His fingerprint is in everything. Everything! Click To Tweet
Satan’s Distractions
It takes no energy at all to allow our minds to be negative (at least for me). Human nature is prone to negativity, so we believe the lie that we are abandoned.
We either believe God sits high above, allowing us to suffer here on Earth, or that He’s simply not real. It can be easy to believe when we see stories and images that the world is burning. Full of evil. Darkness is our future. But, that’s where those stories stop.
The truth is, our stories don’t stop here on Earth. This is not our end. It’s not our home. What the news fails to remind us is the good God produces through awful circumstances. His good isn’t always apparent, but I promise if we search for it, we will find it. If we search for God we will find Him…
I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.
Proverbs 8:17, NIV (emphasis added)
Satan is also practical in his distractions…
“You deserve to sleep in. God would want you to have the extra rest.”
“You don’t need your silent time today. It would be better to catch up on some shows.”
“Are you really going to go for a walk in this heat?”
See how sneaky he is? All of these instances distract us from finding God. Distract us from observing His glory and goodness. I know I allow these distractions on a regular basis. Dare I say, it’s daily?
Human Distractions
Just as our human minds are negative, they are also logical. They have to make sense of things. Often times we think we have to prove God. Whether that be to ourselves or someone else, we feel this strange need to affirm God’s existence. Our humanness is so stubborn and distracts from what God has already made clear…
Do you think you can explain the mystery of God? Do you think you can diagram God Almighty? God is far higher than you can imagine, far deeper than you can comprehend; Stretching farther than earth’s horizons, far wider than the endless ocean.
Job 11:7-8, MSG
God does not need us to prove Him. Human effort will always fail. God has already proved Himself to be real. The only way I, you, or anyone else will truly know His existence, is to open up…
Completely Open
Our eyes, our ears, our minds, our hearts…
When we witness nature, all our senses know God to be real. Interacting with others, we see God’s fingerprint. Reading His Words, the Bible, we comprehend His greatness. Finally, our hearts. When our hearts are open to God, we accept Him as the only truth. Jesus made this clear in one of the last prayers He prayed on Earth…
After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.
John 17:1-5, NLT
When we do our very best to achieve communion like Adam and Eve, you cannot escape God. He smacks you right in the face everywhere you turn. When we completely open up to God’s unchanging, unfathomable, obvious glory, He is inescapable. All the distractions may not disappear, but we are able to combat and overcome when we accept God’s existence.
