Thursday, March 27, 2008

Looking for God

Looking for God, I’m like the guy in The Matrix staring at the screen trying to make sense of the all the green numbers. I stare and I stare. Seems like I miss Him a lot.

Thomas Merton said, “If you find God easily, maybe you haven’t found God.”

3 comments:

jtc said...

That's an interesting quote. Then again there is the other school of thought that God is easily visible ... that all we have to do is look around us, in nature, and in the eyes of children, or each other.

I know I relate to both as there are times when I easily see God's fingerprints and footprints in my life. I see him in the rhythm and the beauty of this amazing world he created (especially in Maui!) and marvel at his vastness. But then there are the times that all I see is the darkness of our (my) own worldly problems ... the death and decay of a planet seemingly run amuck (I mean it is hard to see God when you turn on the news)

I read somewhere that the next time I ask God, "Where are you?" I should be asking myself, "Where am I?" because he has made it clear that he is with us always and that he will never leave us nor forsake us and that we need not be afraid or discouraged. I know I find comfort in that.

Jonathan Foster said...

I agree that God is with us always and yet there are times when I think he chooses to be silent, to wait, to watch.

Can't remember the exact details of the story but I remember hearing about a Native American tribe where when a boy reached a certain age he would head out to the wilderness to spend a night by himself. Of course the 12 or 13 year old would easily be startled all night long listening to the sounds of the forest. Every little and especially big noise would make him jump as he waited for the morning light. When he awoke in the morning he found that his father was actually keeping watch over him a short distance away.

Whether I got the details right or not, the point is that I think God is sometimes like that. So, I do take comfort but in the middle of the night, I sometimes can't find him or hear him and I wonder...

jtc said...

that is a great way of putting it ... and very relatable.