“I wish God would just come down and hit me with a frying pan. That would get my attention!”
My friend stood in front of me, head down, a tight smile on her face. Her husband had lost his job, and she didn’t know if she should start looking for work, or stay home with her children. She couldn’t settle on the right thing to do.
Moses had his Burning Bush, and Paul his lightening strike, but bold, attention-getting events like that are rare in today’s world. Real life problems demand time, thought, and prayer for solutions.
But it sure seems like it might be a faster process, if cast iron was involved.
There’s no question that I’d respond positively to the first unexpected thump. “Thank you Lord!” I’d sing out, rubbing the goose egg sized bump rising out of my noggin.
But after a few experiences like that, I wouldn’t be so grateful anymore. As a matter of fact, I’d probably get pretty mad. Obstinate even. “Hit me in the head again God, and I’ll refuse to do it because you are
mean
!”
I know I would act like this, because I come from a long line of stiff-necked people.
The Lord is not going to use violence to get my friend’s attention.
As he well knows, it doesn’t work, and his infinite mercy will not allow it. And it’s a good thing too. If God was capable of actually inflicting pain to get us to do the right thing, imagine what he’d do to get us to stop doing the wrong thing?
I have this image of walking down a busy, urban street teeming with people. All I can hear is: “Ouch! Yow!” as God wields his rod, reacting to the judgments we make, the lies we tell and the time we waste. Can you see it too? Crazy.
Just like a good earthly father, our God wants my friend to come and talk to him. Our Father is very interested in showing the way; he doesn’t want her to suffer in this decision. He will speak in that sacred place of prayer.
As she prays with trust, he will show the way. And she shouldn’t worry about making a mistake. If my friend chooses one way, and God wanted her to go the other, he’ll let her know. He will take her by the hand, and lead her gently to the truth.
Like my friend, we all want to make the right choices. Do you want to find the right way? Forget the frying pan, it’s not coming. (Phew!)
Go to your quiet place and pray. God is waiting to show you the way. If you don’t hear his voice, don’t despair. He’s there, it’s just that sometimes our own voices are loud, and it drowns out everything else. Ask for his peace, and you will hear.
Great post with good food for thought!
Hi Joyful! Thank you for coming over today, and leaving such an encouraging comment. It’s so nice that you would visit the first day I come back after being gone a while.
I really appreciate your blog-friendship!
Ceil
Hi Ceil!
It’s not easy to wait, especially when we think God is being silent, but as I am sure most of us have learned in the past, our impatience only gets in the way of what He plans to do with us. In the end, we know that God is in control, and we must wait patiently for Him to answer and to act…we know that He has a purpose in our waiting, and we can be assured that He is going to show up when the solution or request seems hopeless, or even impossible!
Blessings, love, and prayers for your friend and her husband!
Denise
Hi Denise! I think your comment is really a great cap to the blog piece today. It’s so hard to get the line of ‘what I am supposed to do’ and ‘when God takes over.’ It’s really all about trust and doing the best we can do. Calmly, as you said.
Thank you for visiting me today, my first day back
Ceil
This is beautiful…and I’m sorry about your friend that her husband lost the job.
I’ve been through this situation too and God has been teaching a lesson. He wants us to listen Him more, and not busy with our own things.
Thanks for posting Ceil! I’m writing to you now and I’m hoping to send the package to you soon.
Love,
Delvalina
Hi Delvalina! Thank you for your encouraging comment today! Listening is a really good quality, isn’t it? And I think, like my friend, sometimes all the chatter in prayer gets in the way of that peace The Lord wants to give.
Looking forward to the package for sure, but it’s so great to see you today too
Ceil
What a beautifully expressed post about our loving Heavenly Father. So many people have the image of the frying pan…I prefer His way…the way you have so beautifully illustrated with your words, Ceil.
Welcome back! It was great seeing your post in my reader this morning!
Hi Dianna! It’s good to be back, thank you
I agree, I have heard more than one person talk about the ‘flashing arrow’ or the ‘frying pan’. We all want to get it right. But his way the peaceful and loving way. Much better, as you said.
Thank you for coming here today, my first day back
Ceil
Dear Ceil
I am so sorry to hear of your friends misfortune. And I agree with you 100%. When we go to visit someone very important, we don’t just go and demand this and that and the other. No we treat them with at least the respect for their office. Our Pappa works in mysterious ways to get out attention, my friend. With me who was always running around trying to do everything for everyone to earn Pappa’s love, He had to stop me physically with this very disabling disease. But I don’t want it any other way, for now I have found Him and have that intimate love relationship that I always desired so much.
Blessings XX
Mia
Hi Mia! I like your idea about ‘seeing someone important.’ Thank you, that’s a great persepective. And certainly The Lord reaches out to us in ways we can each best understand.
How beautiful that you have found the relationship you want with The Lord. It came at a price, but one you are willing to pay. So inspiring.
Blessings to you my friend,
Ceil
Good morning, my friend!
Glad you are back! : )
Hi Billie Jo! It’s great to go, and great to return. Thank you for your comment, and your smiling face today!
Blessings,
Ceil
Thank you Ceil. Prayer is a very powerful thing..as is HIS love to us. HE does have a way of showing us and waking us up. —–Funny, Ceil, I often have the same view: walking down the street etc. Blessings
Hi Linda! Really? You had the same idea? That’s so fun, I love it. Being quiet in times of anxiety seems like an impossibility, but that’s what has to happen to hear the Lord. Better that way than the flying rod, right??
Thanks for your visit today, my friend
Ceil
Ceil, I used toil so much about wanting to make the “right” decisions that often time I stayed stuck. More and more I have learned just what you stated. God is bigger than any wrong choice we make. He knows how to redirect us, if we happen to go down the wrong path.
Hi Wanda! I am so glad you liked the post, and could relate too. Like I told Linda, it seems like an impossibility to get quiet and pray when I’m all keyed up..but that is exactly what it takes.
Our Lord does know how to get us to the right place. We all need that faith to believe it.
Good to see you today
Ceil
I’ve sensed the Lord talking to me recently about my prayer life…or lack of it. Your post hit home today.
Hi Linda! I am so glad that this post was helpful to you today. Quiet and time with the Lord is hard to find sometimes, isn’t it? But really worth it!
Blessings to you
Ceil
Oh Ceil, once again I love this. This reminds me of how good our God is. I have often asked God to speak to me but I have let the voices of the “world” drown out his voice. We really have to be ready, willing, and open to listen. To accept what he says and to move with it.
Wishing you a blessed day.
xoxo
Hi Jennifer! Thank you for your lovely comment today! First comes listening and then comes obedience, and neither one is easy for me at times. But it’s good to remember that it’s so necessary and worth every step to him.
I did have a good day, and I hope you did too (and the boot!)
Ceil
Stiff-necked. That’s a polite way to put it, Ceil! No wonder we need those cast iron frying pan sized wake up calls.
Way too often.
My, He is a patient God, isn’t He …
Hi Linda! Oh yes, I am a stiff-necked one, but fortunately for me, the Lord has seen that before! You are so right Linda, he is patient and love. How blessed are we??
Good to see you today
Ceil
I never thought about the frying pan, but I have asked for a band of angels with a handwritten note on several occasions. **wink**
Hi Nan! I had heard that expression before…maybe I know more people who really need the wake-up? But I like the handwritten note better. Nice image!
Happy Wednesday
Ceil
Excellent advice and thoughts for today. So many families have been faced with similar decisions and concerns due to the current economic crisis in our land. I’ve been there myself more than once in my life. And you and your friends above are correct…God is in control. He will lead if we will just take the time to pay attention and listen and follow. He always has a plan that is good for us, even when it seems all is lost. My heartfelt prayers go out for this wife/mom. May she clearly hear God’s voice telling her, “this is the way, walk in it”…
Hi Pam! Oh, I love that last quote. It’s just perfect for this situation, love it! God is in control, but so hard to wait, because we all want it when we want it. At least I do! But yes, prayer is the only way. To peace, and to his voice.
Thank you for your inspiring comment today
Ceil
Hey there Ceil!
This is such a good reminder that we need to be silent and wait and see what the Lord has in store. We have got to remain with an ear of Faith!
I don’t want to be so busy with the “other things”, that I miss out on what the Lord is telling/teaching me now.
All is well here, getting my guys ready for their hunting trip. They leave this weekend. Cooking, baking, laundry and more cooking. And packing oh my! Can’t wait for some much needed peace and quiet!
Take Care sweet friend,
Amy
Hi Dear! I like that expression “an ear of faith”. That’s a good image, thank you! I am excited for your time of quiet, plenty of time to hear him whisper to you, right?
Prayers for safety for the boys, and sanity for you
Ceil
I’ve also had friends whose husbands lost their jobs. It’s a very difficult time, and one in which it’s sometimes hard to understand God’s purpose in it all. But you’re right, praying is crucial – both to unload our hearts to Him, and to listen for the still, small voice. He will speak…
GOD BLESS!
(P.S. And for the record, I am cranky already!!)
Hi Fellow Crank! No kidding, Sharon. We are still in that place, my husband is still unemployed. It stinks, I can’t lie. But I know God is with us. I will not give into fear. Prayer really does give us peace.
He will speak…oh yes. What good news
Loved to visit you again!
Ceil
I’ve been known to wish God would write the answer in the sky, give me direction in a big way. Not the frying pan though; I’m too adverse to pain.
Hi Angel! I like the idea of sky-writing. That’s nice and soft, kind of like Nan’s angel notes. I wouldn’t get so mad then either. Good idea!
Thank you for your visit today! Good to see you
Ceil
I’ve wished for a loud booming voice, with a very clear answer! I really like what you wrote about this though!
Hi Mari! I think the booming voice would work out better for my friend, that’s a better image! Thank you, I like it.
I guess I really want clear signs too, and one I can sense with my eyes or ears. But God is waiting to whisper in prayer, so that prayer time becomes even more precious.
Thank you for your visit
Ceil
Ah, this is so very true. Sometimes discerning the voice of God isn’t all that easy. I often find that the path is foggy and God give’s me the next right step without allowing me to see the full path ahead of me. I have a tendency to become consumed with fear and anxiety and yet God patiently waits and says, “It’s ok. Just take this next right step. I promise it will all come together in the end.” It’s been like this with all of the major changes in my life and it never ceases to amaze me how God’s got me, even when I can’t tell exactly what I’m supposed to do.
Hi Anne! I think you are so right. Faith and trust are the keys to life with the Lord. He doesn’t always give the whole game plan, just like you said. Step by step we get we’re going.
Sometimes I wish I knew the entire plan, but then again, it’s probably better that I don’t. Looking back, I can see the patterns. It’s pretty beautiful, isn’t it?
Great to see you today Anne. Hope all is well with your family!
Ceil
Dear Ceil,
Thank you for the gentle reminder to come before the Lord and seek His counsel and guidance on. It seems like there is so much, internal and external that can drown out His voice.
On my current situation I do have a peace and can truly say, I trust His will no matter which direction He moves me.
Hope your visit family was good.
Blessings in Christ…Susan
Hi Susan! What a blessed place you are living in! I pray for that peace daily, and sometimes are better than others. I am so happy for you that you are at peace and grateful for your path.
The family visit was good! I miss my little grandchild already. It stinks to have my kids in other states, but it does make the visits sweeter.
Blessings to you today
Ceil
Beautiful said, my lovely friend. Prayer is the key for God’s direction and wisdom and unfortunately it’s easy to forget this step and just go off of our high-strung emotions. Thank you for the sweet reminder.
It is so good to visit you, Ceil! I missed you and I hope you had a lovely time away. Hugs and blessings!
Hi Stephanie! I am happy to be back at home. Good to go, and good to come home. I should remember the high-strung emotions part today…trying to figure out insurance makes me wish God would hit me with a pan and say “Take this policy!”
Thank you for your lovely comment, Stephanie. I am so glad that we are blog-friends!
Ceil
Hi Ceil,
I was talking to my friend on the phone about an hour ago about this subject, how God understands we are flesh and is very long-suffering with us. I believe that because He sees the end from the beginning He knows the way we will take and allows for it so that every thing works out at the right time, and we grow stronger in the Spirit as we learn from Him.
God bless you and God bless your friend too with a peace that passes all understanding as she rests in Him.
Hi Brenda! I guess we all could use that reminder that God will give us the peace we need in our circumstances. Certainly he knows our situation and our needs, and will do what is best. Even if it doesn’t look like that sometimes.
Thank you for your blessing for me and my friend. It is so appreciated. Thank you for being such a faithful blog-friend.
Ceil
Thank you for your visit and kind comments at Spots and Wrinkles. I, too, am one of those who may need an “iron wake up call” but would likely not respond too well even so. Thankfully, God is full of mercy.
Have a good evening.
Hi Marsha! It was a pleasure to meet you at your blog.
Yeah, I don’t think the whole pan-bashing thing would work out too well for anyone. But I understand wanting to know for sure what God wants.
Thank you for visiting! I hope you had a good Halloween!
Ceil
Beautiful post, Ceil, & so true! I like to tell my Bible study classes to listen to His still, small voice — don’t wait until He has to smack you on the side of the head with a 2 x 4 to get your attention!
God bless,
Laurie
Hi Laurie! Now that’s some good advice! God will get my attention one way or the other. I prefer the quiet, soft way.
I bet you have a very lively Bible study class. You must have a lot of fun
Blessings!
Ceil
Good Morning Ceil!
Hope you had a great visit with your family! I also feel that a good swat would be quicker. But we are all learning to be still and wait for Him to show us and give direction. I have been studying in James, and to be slow to speak and quick to hear, and slow to anger, Now that about covers it
Hugs to you sweet friend !! Roxy
Hi Roxy! I do love the message of St. James, you are so right, ‘that about covers it’!
I do think learning to be still and listen is the most valuable lesson we can learn. And worth the effort, because then, I can hear the voice of God. Wow. Amazing, isn’t it?
Happy All Saints Day, my friend. Thanks for the hugs
Ceil
Thank you Ceil, for I needed this today. Seeking Him on some things and wrestling with doubt on the way. This is a good reminder – I appreciate you sharing it!
Thanks also for your comment on my blog. It’s a wonderful blessing to have sweet friends cheering me on! Have a wonderful weekend!
Hi Karen! I am so glad that you could get something out of the post today. How nice of you to tell me too.
I am so proud of you, what a wonderful thing to see your name in print! I hope your book does great business
Thank you for your visit today, Karen!
Ceil
man this is so so so so true! thank you for posting this!
I actually have been in the same sort of situation as your friend….your post spoke to me so much…what great timing…really all I can say is thank you!
God is so good.
he used your post!
I am now definitely following your blog!
can’t wait to be back!
have a wonderful weekend!
much love,
LadyIlg
p.s. feel free to check out my blog too if you want
I will leave a link!
short sleeved pants
Hi Lady LLG! Thank you for your comments, Morgan! I am so glad you liked the post, and joined and commented too. Wow, it’s a good day for me
I did visit you, and signed up to get your emails. Looking forward to getting to know you better!
Ceil
Sometimes I wish I could talk to God directly. I have several questions that remains unanswered and I would love to know the answers personally. But the Bible is sufficient, isn’t it? And by waiting our faith is further tested. Enjoy the weekend
Hi Farida! I know what you mean. Wouldn’t that be an amazing experience… But you are right, the Bible is enough for now, it contains his message of love. And, we are supposed to be Christ to each other. He needs us!
Thank you for your visit today, and I hope you have a great weekend too
Ceil