Lord, Are You Sure? New book by Marnie Pehrson - A roadmap for understanding what God is trying to teach you from life experiences and how to decipher what He wants you to do next. The Ebony Tree By: Maxine Thompson An African American novel about four generations of women in one family. It follows the mother-daughter relationship and how it was impacted by slavery. It deals with family secrets, alcoholism, depression, poverty and finally, triumph. The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis C.S. Lewis, the master apologist, tackles the question that has plagued humanity for centuries. If God is both omnipotent and good, how can we explain the pain and suffering that people experience daily? And what of the suffering of animals, who neither deserve pain nor can be improved by it? With compassion and insight, C.S. Lewis proposes reasonable answers to these critical theological problems, sharing his wisdom with those who seek true understanding.

I’m putting in a fall garden this year and bought some cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage plants to transplant. Saturday morning I managed to sneak out of the house without being followed by any of our six children. It was a peaceful, cool morning as I carried my somewhat wilted plants outside. I’d been so busy that I had neglected to water them like I should. I turned on the water hose, but no water came out. There wasn’t even the typical sound of running water. Normally, I would have gone inside the house to make sure the water was working, but since I had escaped unnoticed, I didn’t dare venture back into the house and interrupt my few precious moments of solitude in the garden.

So I let a few dregs of water dribble out of the hose onto the plants, and began digging holes for them. I’d worry about finding the water for them later. I’m a hopper by nature, and after digging a few holes, I was bored. Normally I would have been turning the water on, filling the holes, transplanting a few plants and then going back to digging. But this morning I had no choice but to continue with the boring task of hole-digging. I decided to use the time to talk with my Heavenly Father. I began praying – just talking with Him really – and thanking Him for all my wonderful blessings. I was marveling aloud at how He had prepared so many things in advance for me, before I knew I’d even need them.

Then, I asked Him about a challenge that’s been perplexing me. There is so much abundance in my life now – particularly an abundance of opportunities – but not necessarily an abundance of resources to take advantage of those opportunities. There are some righteous desires that I have that are being halted due to lack of resources. I feel like I’ve set out a bunch of plants, but they aren’t bearing fruit like they should. So I began to ask Him about this situation and what He’d like for me to do about it.

About this time, I’d dug all the holes I needed, so I went to a water hose on the other side of the house to see if it worked. It did, so I came back to the one closest to the garden and lo and behold, the water flowed freely. I carried the hose over to the garden and began to fill the holes with water. Then, the question forced its way out of my mouth, “Did You stop the water just so I would talk to You?”

The answer was “Yes.” I believe that’s not only why the water stopped for me that morning – so I’d take the time to talk with my Heavenly Father, but also why the symbolic water usually stops. Heavenly Father uses “lack” in our lives to get our attention – so that we’ll talk with Him, so we’ll listen to Him and most importantly ask Him questions.

There was so much symbolism in the garden experience that my mind began to whirl with the possibilities. First, I knew that my Heavenly Father was telling me that I’d been so busy lately that I’d neglected to really talk with Him. Oh, sure, I’ve had some short heartfelt prayers, but I hadn’t taken the time to get by myself for any extended period of time and have a real conversation with Him.

Second, the water represented the Savior’s “living waters” that bring life, nourishment, and abundance to any situation. It’s so easy to get busy with tasks and forget that what really breathes life into any project is the “living waters” that flow from the Lord. My plants had already begun to wilt a little because I had neglected to water them. If they had been denied water long enough, they would have died. My efforts to dig the holes would have been in vain had the water been unavailable. The shock of putting them into dry soil without water would have killed them.

I began to see the parallels to my current situation. I may have some great projects going right now. I may be working hard and doing my part, but if I don’t stay in constant communication with my Heavenly Father, the living waters will cease to flow and no amount of hard work, opportunities or resources can make up for a lack of living waters!

It’s God’s part of the formula that’s missing. His message to me was, “Dig your holes and talk with me.” How simple! Yet as humans we make it so hard. If we take Jesus at his literal word, we see just how simple this process is. In John 7:37-38 Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

To the woman at the well, He promised, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)

Miracles happen where the living waters of inspiration flow. Everything lives and blooms with abundance, life and hope where the water flows. But cut off the living waters, and everything becomes barren and scarce.

Jesus taught that “blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled [with the Holy Ghost].”

He also promised, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (Matthew 7:7-11)

The Lord wants to bless us with answers and with everything we need, but He wants us to remember to communicate with Him! Are you experiencing lack in your life? If so, how much gratitude are you expressing to your Heavenly Father for what He has given you? How is your communication with Him? Are you asking for guidance, expecting to obtain answers, or are you simply whining ungratefully? Are you talking with Him like you would a friend or have your prayers become ritualistic and redundant? Are you remembering to close your prayers in the name of Jesus Christ? Remember it’s Christ who is your Advocate with the Father. Add power to your prayer by closing your prayer in His name. Are you listening? Are you taking some time away from TV, phones, computers and the noise of modern life to really listen? Take some time to commune with nature. In the world of His creations, He can talk with you and teach you what you need to know.

Another thing I noticed from my experience in the garden was that I got my plants set in half the time it normally would have taken because I didn’t waste time hopping from digging, to turning on the water hose to planting and back to digging. I dug all the holes at once, watered them all, and planted. I was more efficient because I stayed on task. And what helped me to do that? First, there was lack of water that forced me to do it. Second, I passed the time by talking with my Heavenly Father. What normally would have been a mundane task became something enjoyable.

I’ve decided that the next time I get tempted to hop from one thing to the next or when I’m stuck in a situation where I’m missing a key resource that I need, that I’ll stay on task, doing what I can do, and pass the time consulting with my Heavenly Father!

Written by: Marnie Pehrson
Marnie L. Pehrson is a wife, mother of 6, founder of SheLovesGod.com, and author of both inspirational Christian titles such as You Can't Fly If You're Still Clutching the Dirt: How to Stop Worrying and Achieve Your God-given Potential and historical fiction novels like "The Patriot Wore Petticoats". Be sure to download her free ebook Nothing Is Impossible for Those Who Believe. You may read excerpts and samples of her books and ebooks at www.MarniePehrson.com. She also frequently adds to her gratitude column here.

The author may be contacted at http://www.MarniePehrson.com webmaster@shelovesgod.com.

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