Seven Sacrifices to Joy

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Oh, it’s great to communicate with you via this blog and our Coffee Hour! I’m so glad you took time out of your busy day to join me! Grab your coffee and your red Strand of Faith and let’s get back to this Sacrifice of Communication.
I remember when I was in my 20s and early 30s, if I wasn’t being what I deemed good enough, I didn’t show up to shut up … to be still and share my heart with Him. Why is that? My faith was based upon my feelings and as I’ve shared before, if I didn’t “feel” like I had been good enough, or if I didn’t “feel” connected, then that drove my faith car. Those darned feelings robbed my faith more times than I care to remember, and yet, I think it’s so important that I remember so I’m able to share with others in the hopes that they would be encouraged to not let their feelings deter them from true communication with the Author of Relationships, the Greatest Communicator of all time. Letting feelings drive our car often turns communication upside down!
Just the other day, a trench class student called me and she was sharing with me how she was feeling disconnected. My heart stopped, waiting for her to continue, praying that in that feeling of disconnect, she hadn’t bought into the enemy’s lies. She went on to say that she couldn’t wait to get to church, to rid herself of that feeling. But after church, while it had subsided some, it still plagued her.
She went to dinner with her family, and after that, she communicated her need to spend some time with God, to go to her quiet place and do some Transform homework and push through that feeling of disconnect! She showed up even though she didn’t feel connected! This was a huge victory for her because in the past, she often allowed her feelings to take her down the wrong path. I was so incredibly proud of her and reminded her that feelings aren’t right or wrong; they just are … so we can’t let them drive our emotional car.
If we shut down, we’ll push away! Oftentimes, we stay away from God when we feel we are not good enough, or maybe we’ve done something we shouldn’t have done. And when we do communicate with Him it’s more of a long distance call with a promise to be better and do better and we let our own guilt build a wall instead of a bridge that He put in place when He died to communicate with each of us. When you communicate with God, is it a long distance call?
I hear another question echoing in the hallway of my heart: Are you angry with/at God? Unresolved anger with/at God will definitely affect the distance of the call you place to Him! This question could literally become a whole other series, but to avoid detouring, take some time to think about this question with this understanding in mind: when we are angry with Him, this denotes some understanding of Him and some type of relationship with Him. If we are angry at Him, this indicates we have been away and are already at a distance from Him. Let me put it more simply: “at” signifies a distance; “with” implies close-up.
So let’s put this principle in context with all of our relationships: In other words if we have distanced ourselves from someone and are not in consistent communication with them, then when something happens that we don’t understand or agree with, we become angry at them. But to be angry with someone, the assumption is that there is a connection of trust.
Could communication be a bridge to trust?
To trust someone means we are vulnerable, knowing when all the dust clears from a conflict, there is still a secure connection. In other words, they could be angry with me and still love me!
The longer we stay away from Him, the harder it is to communicate with Him … or anyone. The greatest difference is He will always be there while others may get tired of waiting. Challenge yourself today, Coffee Hour Friend, to communicate with Him, even if you “feel” distanced. Write Him a letter and then dare to read it aloud. Share your frustrations, your sorrows, your fears. The more you communicate with the Great Communicator, the less distance between you and Him!
Until tomorrow,

Evinda


P.S. Would you say a prayer for me today as I’ll be doing two book signings! Pray for many divine appointments and many opportunities to get these books into the hands and hearts of many!