I had the opportunity a couple weeks ago to spend a good part of my day in one of my favorite ways: chatting casually with my Heavenly Father. It was a beautiful time of fellowship, and I really felt myself the “daughter of the King”. In that conversation, I could express safely, with equal confidence, my joys, hopes, and fears.
We’ll get to that later. For now, let’s start at the beginning.
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Lying in bed one cool fall day recently, I received a nudge around 6:17 a.m. The nudge was clear. It said, “Get up. Go pray.” I knew immediately from whom the nudge came.
I slipped out of bed, grabbed a cup of Folger’s Classic coffee, and went straight to my prayer chair. There was no time to question God. He made it very clear that He had something to say to me, and I was not about to keep Him waiting.
Behind the Scenes
Behind the scenes in my spiritual life, I have been dealing with a lot that I don’t understand this year. My meltdowns, my concerns, my unexpected thoughts, my perceived inability to hear God correctly, and the fear of hearing Him incorrectly all played into the fact that I knew God either had some profound admonitions for me or indispensable words of encouragement.
Creative Inspiration
Most times God speaks to me in a small quiet voice or through His Word. But occasionally He speaks to me in very creative ways.
An example of that was last weekend when I was driving to a Bible study. I was on the agenda to share a few words of wisdom with the group.
I was empty.
I had nothing in mind to share.
God is so good. He knew I had undergone a week filled with one urgent issue after another. As I drove on the freeway (I-10, for those who care), I passed a storage facility followed by a billboard that had the word journey on it. Through those everyday roadside fillers, God graciously gave me His words to share at the Bible study.
He impressed me to tell this group that, “As women, we store so much within ourselves without sharing it with anyone, either isolating ourselves from others or stressing us out. However, we must remember that we are all on our own individual journey, and how God works with you and what He might want you to share or not share may be different than how He deals with others.”
Now, I am not suggesting you give up your daily Bible reading or prayer time to look for these creative signs from God. Not at all, but what I am saying is that God can use any method He so chooses to share Himself with you and me.
Back to that cool fall day . . .
Praying for months for more intimate moments with God, I zealously awaited a deep one-on-one time with the Lord that morning.
Preparing to Hear from God
When I first sat down in my prayer chair, I reread one of my recent Dear God letters.* Then, I recalled multiple Bible verses to mind and recited them aloud. At that juncture, I began talking to the Lord about what was heaviest on my heart—my not understanding the “whys” of what I had gone through, and was still going through, this year.
You see, it’s been a rough season of pruning, spiritual warfare, and not understanding circumstances. Through it all, though, my desire was to be absolutely surrendered to Him.
In all humility, I must mention I have been in the Word constantly and been praying daily, so I knew it wasn’t a matter of God telling me to do these two things.
It was much deeper than that.
God had serious business to conduct with me. And, I loved His creativity with me, especially since I have been in such a serious mode lately.
A Pen and Paper Conversation
Then from nowhere, God and I were sharing like two good old friends, chit-chatting about everything from smoked sausage to the latest lipstick trends. [Yes, I am exaggerating here!]
Being the “pen and paper” woman I am, I began writing down our conversation as it was occurring. God titled our conversational diversion with the phrase “The fact is.” This phrase became the name of our personal tête-à-tête.
In a short amount of time, 120 lines of talking with my heavenly Father had taken place. I could have kept going, but I stopped when a text message from a friend came through.
With her permission, I share her 6:59 a.m. post.
Patti, John and family, the Joy of the Lord will give you strength and you will live the life of victory God has promised you! Father, bless this family with victory in their personal lives, in their relationships, in their church and in their community. Dear Lord, thank you for blessing, encouraging and empowering them no matter what they may be facing. I ask You to fill their hearts with supernatural joy, so they can stand strong in all things. I pray that God blesses you daily with good health, divine healing, peace, hope and guidance. I am praying that in His perfect time and in His gentle way, God’s caring touch will comfort, support and strengthen you. Love you. In Jesus name. Amen.
It’s just like God to send a confirmation that He is right by my side—only 43 minutes after my wakeup call. But it didn’t stop there. All day long, I took notice of God saying, “The fact is,” and I responded with the same identical phrase.
This non-verbal dialogue between God and me transpired as I traced my path through several stores, specifically Walgreens, Barnes & Noble, Macy’s and Hobby Lobby. He even confirmed it was Him in Barnes and Noble when I randomly ran across a book titled, And That’s a Fact! *
The bottom line of this post is that I thought I would share a sampling of the heart-to-heart chat I had with the Lord today. Maybe it will help you—maybe it won’t. But I think God is nudging me to share it! So, I am going to obey.
Me: The fact is, I love You, Jesus.
God: The fact is, I love you so much I died for you.
Me: The fact is, You will help me overcome.
God: The fact is, Yes, I will give you strength.
Me: The fact is, You want me to rest upon Your shoulder.
God: The fact is, I can calm and quiet your soul by doing that.
Me: The fact is, people fail us and let us down.
God: The fact is, I am always true to My Word
God: The fact is, I am your confidence.
Me: The fact is, I get hurt when I don’t remember that. In fact, I get hurt a lot.
God: The fact is, I will never leave you or forsake you.
Me: The fact is, I try to remember that one day is like a thousand years to You.
God: The fact is, I know you were summoned into service for Me.
Me: The fact is, then You know I don’t know what to do with that calling.
God: The fact is, just trust that I know the plans I have for you.
Me: The fact is, I know You don’t have to share those plans with me now.
Me: But the fact is, I am getting older.
God: The fact is, some things I hide in the spiritual realm until the right time.
Me: The fact is, that sometimes I feel battered down and feel forgotten.
God: The fact is, I give My power to the weak and I am able.
Me: The fact is, I can’t make sense of it.
God: The fact is, you just need to trust Me.
Me: The fact is, I do trust You and I know You hold me in Your hands.
God: The fact is, that My wisdom will guide you to understanding. With discernment, you will know My ways.
Me: The fact is, spiritual warfare comes out of nowhere and it lasts so long, then leaves temporarily, then returns.
God: The fact is, I have allowed it, so your faith can be proven.
God: The fact is, I want You to experience the “coming out of it” victoriously. I can only do it that through the way I am working in your life.
Me: The fact is, I am depending upon You to come out victoriously.
God: The fact is, I am also pruning you.
Me: The fact is, that’s an understatement. I know You are pruning me, Lord—It’s exciting, but it hurts so much.
God: The fact is, I am carrying you.
Me: The fact is, being a Christian is the best thing ever, but it can be so hard.
God: The fact is, I know that. I sweat drops of blood because of that, but the ending was and is sweet.
God: The fact is, I am preparing you for great and mighty things you do not know.
Me: The fact is, that’s awesome. Thank You.
God: The fact is, I know you are weary.
Me: The fact is, I know to come to You. You said, “Come to Me, you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
Me: The fact is, I know I am growing through all this.
God: The fact is, you must wait and then you will overcome it. When you see what I have in store for you, you won’t believe it.
Me: The fact is, I’m having trouble waiting. I’m sort of anguished about it. But, thank You for me so much. Furthermore, thank You for preparing a place for me in Heaven.
God: The fact is, everything you have experienced and will experience has been experienced by Me.
Me: The fact is, that’s comforting. I love You and need to be reminded of that.
God: The fact is, I love you too. Go forth in My love. Trust Me. Put your faith in Me. Depend on Us—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God: Make your requests be made known to Me. Then, believe that I know what I am doing. I know the details because I know the big picture of your life.
Me: The fact is, I do believe that, but I may need more times of respite.
God: The fact is, that the shepherd cares about his sheep. And you are one of my dearest sheep.
Me: The fact is, I love You for that.
God: The fact is, let’s chat more. Now, I’m nudging you to finish the book you are reading tonight! There’s something in it just for you. [There was.]
So… whether via roadside billboards or a text message from a Godly friend; whether I am in my lair’s “prayer chair”, waltzing through Walgreens or hobnobbing in Hobby Lobby, the Word of the Lord comes to me in many ways and places.
The fact is: whenever He is ready to talk, I, like Samuel of old, am always ready to hear and respond at any time.
But please, Lord, let me first get my morning cup of coffee.
Bible Verses:
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried – our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him – our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5 MSG)
The fact is, that ADONAI sent me to you to speak all these words, so that you could hear them. (Jeremiah 26:15b CJB)
The fact is, that Christ did actually rise from the dead and has become the first of millions who will come back to life again someday. (1 Corinthians 15:20 LB)
Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If not, why not take steps to receive Him by . . .
- Recognizing that God does love you. (John 3:16)
- Understanding and confessing that your sins are separating you from God. (Romans 3:23)
- Accepting that Jesus Christ is the only provision for your sins. (Romans 5:8)
- Individually receiving Jesus Christ through faith as your Lord. (John 1:12)
Prayer:
Dear Jesus,
What a joy to fellowship with You all day long! Thanks for giving me the freedom to talk to You. Thank You for the precious words You have given me. Thank You for the facts we have shared together—especially the banter we enjoyed just between ourselves. I know You are with me. I just want to feel Your presence more and more in my life. I want to live in the spiritual realm as much as possible. Let Your truths enlighten me and guide me. I love You, Jesus.
Amen.
God Bless. Until 2019.
* My Dear God letters consist of letters I have written to God—usually on notebook paper. I started writing these letters decades ago and I have them saved. Usually they are written when I really have something serious on my mind. Many times, God impresses upon me what to do or what not do during these letter writing activities.
*And That’s a Fact by Harry Bright. I have not read this book or even browsed through it. It may be awesome, but I am not necessarily recommending it. I just saw the cover in Barnes and Noble.
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