Of new years and strong feelings (The "God Told Me Edition)

Happy New Year! I know it's February, and we are way past the season's greetings, but rather than be rude, I decided to start today's edition of this blog post with a generic greeting as though I have not been absent for a million years. A lot has been happening, dear reader, and a lot shall continue to happen, but the show? It must go on regardless. I promise today I'm gonna keep this short because who has time to read? (You apparently do because you're here, but since it's the beginning of the year, I will spare you.) You're welcome! I'm gonna talk about that "God told me" business (it's always been the elephant in the room, and I think that elephant is there to stay).

For years, I really struggled, and to a degree, I still struggle to openly, in conversation, say oh God told me this because uh, hello?? Told you where? Told you how? Told you? You? I would just gloss over it and say, "I had a really strong feeling..." Even though I knew and still know that God speaks to us in so many ways, I just can't get over how strangely people look at me when I say God told me. They be looking at me like I have gone crazy, and the more I look at them looking at me, I begin to wonder if indeed I may have gone crazy.

Now, what brought this sudden exit from my writing hiatus is the novel I am currently reading (The One Who Holds Me by Joan Embola). It's a Christian romance novel, and there is a lot of "God told me" going on in this book. I caught myself asking if it's really that simple to hear from God, and why are they oversimplifying it like that? I very quickly realised how mad I must be to think that it's hard to hear from God. After years of knowing God, how dare I think like that, but grace and truth, dear reader, grace and truth.

Looking at the way my days are structured, I began to wonder at which point in my day I expect to hear from God because I am either on the phone, on the TV, on the laptop, or reading a book or listening to music/a podcast or talking to someone, and and and... I multitask to the point where I do not even have time to think and hide behind the guise of keeping busy. Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to me, and I will answer you..." But in the busyness of my day, I do not call to him. Even when I pray, I do not wait to hear his answer. I call him and yap about everything, and then just say oh okay, cool, God, this was a nice chat, let's do it again sometime soon. I realised that I have carefully planned my life around doing a whole lot of things that do not include listening to what God is saying. Even when I do hear him, and I know it's him, I just sort of convince myself that maybe it's just me, but who am I without God? Is Christ not in me?

I know you know this is my blog, and I just talk about me (coz it's my blog), but I know you know you also like pretending like you can't hear God when you know it's him. You're not feeling it strongly, my dear, GOD SAID IT, so please say it with your chest. Can you just please trust that his word won't go back to him void but will accomplish that which it was sent forth to do? (Isaiah 55:11) Trust god and say it with your chest because he is so ready to see that word through! And also, don't be so busy that you can't hear him. Make space for him. When you call someone, it's so that you can have a conversation, and that is just how simple a conversation with God is. You talk, but you also listen.

ps. This is not an excuse for you to start going around and lying to people, saying God said it, so that you can selfishly gain. BEHAVE YOURSELF!

pps. He will also speak to you through his word, so be sure to reach for that every day for a daily dose of what God is saying to you :)

Happy New Year, dear reader. Let's do this again soon.