HEARME@GOD
How do you start your mornings? Personally, I'm a substantial user of digital technology, and in my current position I oversee activities of a globe-encircling organization. So first thing after waking up, I want to go online and see what came in overnight.
In the course of the day I look to see what's happening in the world of my 3,600 Facebook friends (for one account) and another 2,300 on a page that I help manage for a non-profit organization. I check how many "likes" my notifications may have received and what comments may have been made. Then I review my two Twitter feeds.
In the course of any given business day I may review and update two separate websites that I personally manage along with their RSS feeds and three cloud drives. I write blogs (you're reading one) and record a regular podcast. I love #hashtag campaigns and regularly "tweet" or "retweet" thoughts throughout the day (you can follow me @VictorKubik on Twitter).
Obviously, communication platforms in the current digital age agree with me. Sometimes I wonder how I'd get along without my smartphone, tablet and laptops.
But then I have to ask myself, is this necessarily all a good thing? Am I connected to what really matters? What about you-what's your answer?
Today you can't write an e-mail or text to hearme@God. But there are other tried and true ways to communicate with the most powerful Being in the Universe Who can actually communicate directly with your life and thoughts. All without WiFi! I find this communication far more valuable and having much more productive outcomes than any other means available in our electronic age. So, with all the technology available to me, I find ageless tools of connectivity to God to be superior.
Let's consider that Abraham was extraordinarily well-connected with things that truly matter. In one example in Genesis 20:17, we find the patriarch Abraham praying-communicating directly with God-and thus having a direct impact on a major political leader of the day, as well many associated with that leader. The Bible includes many more examples of Abraham, Moses and other biblical figures talking directly with God! Consider further what God desires in a solid relationship with each of us:
- God has a specific plan for each of us (Jeremiah 29:11)
- We reach God directly through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Elder Brother (John 14:6)
- God offers "incomparably great power for us who believe" (Ephesians 1:19, New International Version)
- God wants us to give us eternal life in His coming Kingdom (John 6:40)
- God rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)
- God will shield us from harm (Psalm 84:11)
- God supplies our needs and blesses us in alignment with His perfect will (Luke 12:29-31; Matt 6:33; James 4:2-3; Romans 12:1-2)
Wouldn't you want this kind of relationship with the most powerful Being alive today? The Bible goes on with hundreds of examples of people like you and me who prayed intelligently thanking, asking, consulting, and interacting with God. All without WiFi!
Accordingly, I ask these critical questions: How do we prioritize our day? Who or what comes first?
Recently I watched a Web seminar that featured young adults talking about their dependency on digital devices, a dependency that some would consider addiction. The Millennials, as they are called (young adults born sometime between the early 1980s and the early 2000s), are noted for communicating with their thumbs. That is, they text dozens of times a day with their acquaintances. Some would say that they are addicted to getting their information, comfort and relationships through their smartphones. Some of the presentations in this seminar were about weaning oneself from this digital dependency.
However, this dependency is still there. It can eclipse our ready need for reaching out and communicating with a Greater Intelligence and Communicator.
During the webinar one charming Millennial was interviewed about her morning regimen. Instead of focusing on electronic inbound communication, she begins her day by communicating on the more powerful platforms of prayer, reading the Bible and other inspirational material, journaling, scheduling and tracking. She starts the day right by spiritually communicating with the right sources of knowledge rather than the abyss of the Internet.
When we start our day, fulfilling our need to communicate, do we reflect what David experienced? In Psalm 42:1-2 David describes this urgent yearning for God:
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."
David wanted to express himself to God; he wanted God's comfort. He wanted God's advice and encouragement. His communication with God was with delight and acclaim, as we read in Psalm 42:4 :
"When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise."
Many Jews have an early morning tradition of seeking to first think or speak the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9, which include:
"The Lord our God, the Lord is One! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might."
This verse, of course, encapsulates the Greatest Commandment as defined by Jesus Christ in Mark 12:29-30. If you're looking for a place or verse to spiritually fire up your morning, why not start here?
The work of the United Church of God is to communicate God's thoughts to you. To help us all get centered on the things that are important, we have prepared an all-new Bible study aid called Tools for Spiritual Growth. I invite you to send for it or download it immediately. In it, you will find tested and timeless ways humans from the very beginning have communed with their Creator.
You can't write an e-mail to hearme@God but you can be assured that God hears your prayers.
P.S.: Have a spiritual morning or other routine that works for you? Please write to me at victor_kubik@ucg.org.
