Why do people believe in God? For most people in the world, the answer seems obvious: Because it is self-evident that God exists. From the point of view of the believer, the really puzzling question is how anyone could not believe. Although many people in industrialised societies have abandoned traditional organised religion, many still confess to some sort of spiritual belief, such as a life-force or divine spirit that pervades nature and humanity.

Spend some time with Terry Lees on Silver Linings as he shares how our lives can be transformed by listening and learning God’s voice and how God, as a patient and loving Father, is willing to teach us slowly if necessary.

Listen to the episode below, or continue on to read the transcript.

Episode Transcript:

A little girl was sitting at a table drawing!  Her mother asked, “What are you drawing, darling?” The Little girl replied, “I’m drawing a picture of God.” Her mother said, “But how can you do that, dear, nobody knows what God looks like….” The little girl looked up at her mother and sweetly responded, “They will … when I’m finished!”

Why do people believe in God? For most people in the world, the answer seems obvious: Because it is self-evident that God exists. From the point of view of the believer, the really puzzling question is how anyone could not believe. Although many people in industrialised societies have abandoned traditional organised religion, many still confess to some sort of spiritual belief, such as a life-force or divine spirit that pervades nature and humanity.

It is written that in the same way as all living creatures are driven by urges of hunger and thirst, or craving for love, likewise all human beings are by instinct inclined to seek the knowledge of God. As the presence of those ins­tincts does not need any explanation, in the same way no reasoning is required to prove man’s inclination to know God.

A bird, without any prior learning, knows by instinct how to make a nest and how to feed its young and how to take care of them and love them, likewise a human also, without any acquisition of prior knowledge, is attracted towards the omnipotent and omniscient Being by way of his heart and conscience.

Human beings still yearn for love, acceptance, healing, compassion, forgiveness, community and justice. Every generation seeks out these same basic desires and needs. Author Daniel O’Leary writes: “People across the world are in sore need of hope and healing. Life is incredibly extreme and violent. Fierce emotions wage silent wars in the hidden places of a suffering world.” He goes on to say: “Where do we look for the vital voices of hope? We look within. Our hearts still carry the echo of God’s music in Creation, of the Saviour’s song in redemption.”

Paulo Coelho de Souza is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist, best known for his novel The Alchemist. He writes of our desire to seek God: On one hand we know that it is important to seek God. On the other hand, life distances us from Him – because we feel ignored by the Divine, or else because we are busy with our daily life. This apparent double law is a fantasy: God is in life, and life is in God.

Relax. When we start our spiritual journey, we want so very hard to speak to God – and we end up not hearing what He has to tell us. That is why it is always advisable to relax a little. It is not easy: we have a natural tendency to always do the right thing, and we feel that we are going to improve our spirit if we work at it non-stop. But if you relax and keep moving, if we manage to penetrate the sacred harmony of our daily existence, we shall always be on the right road, because our daily tasks are also our divine tasks. And God is there.

There was a woman who had been busy all day long, picking up rubbish, cleaning bathrooms and scrubbing floors, preparing for her grown children who were coming home for the weekend. She wanted everything to be perfect. But, suddenly, it dawned on her that she was dog-tired. “I’ve got to rest for a minute,” she told her husband, as she collapsed into her favourite rocking chair.  A scripture passage from Psalm 46 popped into her mind. “Be still and know that I am God.” She realised she hadn’t spent much time in prayer that day and thought: Was I too busy to even utter a simple word of thanks to God? Finding it too noisy in the house, she went outside to sit on the verandah. “I can be quiet out there”, she thought. She longed for a few minutes alone with God.

The flowers and hanging baskets were breathtaking. It was a heavenly place of rest and tranquillity. If I can’t be still with God in that environment, I can’t be still with Him anywhere, she thought.  She closed her eyes and began to pray, counting her many blessings. A bird flew by, chirping and singing. It interrupted her thoughts. It landed on the bird feeder and began eating dinner as she watched. After a few minutes it flew away, singing another song.

She closed her eyes again. A gust of wind blew which caused the wind chimes to dance. They made a joyful sound, but again she lost her concentration on God. She squirmed and wiggled in her chair. She looked up toward the blue sky and saw the clouds moving slowly toward the horizon. The wind died down. The wind chimes finally became quiet. Again, she bowed in prayer. “Honk, honk,” she heard. She almost jumped out of her skin. A neighbour was driving down the street. He waved at her and smiled. She waved back, happy that he cared. She quickly tried once again to settle down, repeating the familiar verse in her mind. Be still and know that I am God. “I’m trying God. I really am,” she whispered. “But you’ve got to help me here.”

The backdoor opened. Her husband walked outside. “I love you,” he said. “I was wondering where you were.” She chuckled, as he came over and kissed her, then turned around and went back inside.

“Where’s the quiet time?” she asked God. This is impossible, she thought. There’s no time to be still and to know that God is with me. There’s too much going on in the world and entirely too much activity all around me. Then it suddenly dawned on her. God was speaking to her the entire time she was attempting to be still. He sent a sparrow to lighten her life with song. He sent a gentle breeze. He sent a neighbour to let her know she had a friend. He sent her sweetheart to offer sincere sentiments of love. He caused her heart to flutter to remind her of life. She thought, “While I was trying to count my blessings, God was busy multiplying them”. She laughed to realise that the “interruptions” of her quiet time with God were special blessings He’d sent to show her He was with her the entire time.

There are many reasons we do not hear God’s voice in our lives. Sometimes we do not want to hear. Sometimes we do not hear because we are too busy putting our own needs first. Maybe we feel we are not worthy of God’s time and love. We cannot see how God would want to talk to us. Often, though, we simply do not recognise God’s voice because of the busy-ness of our lives. We can be so focused on everything else that we fail to hear God’s gentle whispers in our hearts. Often, we are so busy we may miss it even when God is screaming our names, trying to get our attention.

We can change that by listening and learning God’s voice. Just as our children listen to us when they are babies, we too must take baby steps. Thankfully God is a patient and loving Father, willing to teach us slowly if necessary.

While praying one day a woman asked, “Who are you, God?” He answered, “I AM.”  “But who is I AM?”  She asked. He replied, “I Am Love, I Am Peace, I Am Grace, I Am Joy, I Am Strength,

I Am the Creator, I Am the Comforter, I Am the Beginning and the End, I Am the Way, Truth, and the Life” With tears in her eyes she looked toward Heaven and said, “ Now I understand, but who am I?” God tenderly wiped the tears from her eyes and whispered, “You are Mine.”

God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, He’ll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart, which is where the True Self is.

Look for the Silver Lining.

This is Terry Lees           

[Music: When I Get Where I’m Going – Brad Paisley with Dolly Parton]