Reasons We Drown and How Not To by Susan Barclay

Sometimes I think God must find us "as thick as a plank." We can be just like the drowning man who dies and goes to heaven only to learn that he passed up three opportunities God had provided for him to be rescued. 

What makes it so hard for us to listen or see what God is trying to tell us? Here are a few possibilities:

1. We're in too big of a hurry. We want what we want when we want it. We're not patient enough to wait on the Lord, His direction and timing. We rush ahead of Him, arrogantly thinking He needs our help to bring things to pass, believing we know what's best even though we can't possibly see the big picture or know what better thing He might have in mind. We forget that:

image by Ben Steed, Heartlight.org

 2. We don't seek His input. Our prayers are one-directional, upwards. We talk to Him about what we want or need; we send up pleas and pleases, as in "Please, God, do x-y-z," "Please, God, provide a-b-c." We don't spend any time listening or being still. Maybe we don't believe He wants to talk to us as much as He wants us to do the talking. I wonder how much trouble we could be spared if we only sought His leading instead of supplicating then getting on with business as usual...

Heartlight.org

 3. We don't know how to listen or see. We don't know how to be quiet for once. We haven't been raised in Christian homes or we haven't had good examples or teaching. The Holy Spirit is there to guide us and show us; all we need to do is ask, attend and be available.

image by Joshua Batchelor, Berea project

I don't know about you, but I've been guilty of not listening or seeing. There have been times when I've been in a hurry, I haven't sought His input, or I just didn't know how to wait on God or even how to accurately interpret the big red flags He was waving. Sadly, He has had to get my attention in hard ways that could have been avoided. 

Though I don't always get it right even now, I've become much better at asking the Holy Spirit to teach me, calling on the Lord and seeking His answers, searching for Him and hoping in Him. My greatest desires, apart from the salvation of my children, are to spend time with Him, learn from Him and experience His goodness while I am yet in the land of the living. Essentially, I want to prevent drowning!

As for a story about a time when God provided me with "extraordinary directions," that's currently under consideration with a publisher. Prayers for a favourable response are appreciated!
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You can find out more about Susan Barclay's writing at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com