God Shows Up

^“Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3 (NIV)

God shows up.  He really does.  He shows you what He can do.  That is what I am continuing to experience this month.  I hope that you are experiencing God showing up in your life as well.

            When people are disrespectful to you, God shows up, and puts a hand over your mouth to not respond snarky to the person.  He sends a text or a phone call from a friend that is uplifting and helps you refocus to hear the truth when you are believing the lies.  God is a God of truth, and shows up.

            In the dark of night, when you are questioning what in the world is happening in your life.  He is the sense of peace.  When you are mad at where you are at, and feel stuck, He is the calm and the compass to direct you where you need to go. He will release you.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

            I am not saying that life will always be a ray of sunshine. Yet, the SON, will always shine on us.  He shows up. Even in the midst of the darkest day, God shows up. When we are in the fog, He is the lighthouse.

            The light house, that is something that I want to share a story about.  Christmas, two years ago, I was lost in the fog and needing direction of my personal life.  It was as if, I was in a lifeboat, and could not see which way to go.

            I prayed and read and journaled my journey in the fog.  One day, I received a gift from a friend.  It was a lighthouse.  I thought that I knew that it was the answer to my prayer.  So, I pursued the decision that I thought I should make.

            Cut to two years later, and having hit the rugged rocks of that shoreline, or decision, I should say.  What happened? “God, I thought you were leading me towards this decision?  Why did I crash into the rocks?  Why didn’t you warn me to go a different direction?” I ask God.

            It took a lot of soul searching, and God searching.  It took about seven months of every day asking why, and where to God. Honestly, there was time that I stopped asking, because my ears were closed to listen to the truth.

Then, in an unexpected way, God appeared to me through whisper.  “I did show up. In fact, there were three times that I tried to show you to choose a different course. I sent you the lighthouse ornament, and Acts 2:25-28, and the squirrel ornament.”

            “I thought that they were all leading towards the direction?” I answered.

            “That is the direction that YOU wanted to go, but I knew better.  I knew that you would be hurt. That is why I tried to warn you. Laura, a lighthouse is a warning of rocks and cliffs. The verse says that I will not lead you to hell, and the squirrel was meant to tell you that the direction that you were going was just a distraction, and not where I wanted you to go.  I am still with you, even unto the end of the world. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Let’s get you on the right course,” I hear God speak.

            It is a comfort to know that even when we mess up, or head the wrong direction, God is there.  He just turns us around and heads us in the right direction.  There isn’t anything that can make God stop loving us and wanting us to be in His presence.

            You may wonder what a squirrel has to do with a distraction. For those of you who have seen “UP” there is a dog, Dug, who is on the cartoon.  He is a talking dog, but that is not the point.  The point is, while he is talking, he always gets distracted, and yell, “Squirrel.”

            As I thought about it, God did appear.  Three times he showed up, and more. Three times, He tried to warn me that following the direction which I went would lead to crashing, and not where God wanted me to go. 

            God appears in the good, the bad, and the ugly.    

Dear Poppa God,

Thank you for appearing to us.  You are always with us.  When we seek you, we will find you, when we search for you with all of our hearts.  We are so grateful that you appear.  Thank you for leading us, and showing up.

In Jesus name, Amen.

            Laura Maxson