Day 15: Hear

"For us to take God seriously, we have to be open to asking questions and perhaps doubting what it is we believe, trusting that God is big enough to handle our questions...May we have the courage to see and hear what both doubt and faith have to teach and may each of us daily go on to perfection, patterning our lives after Christ, that, in every thought of our hearts, in every word of our tongues, in every work of our hands, we would show forth praise."

There's a lot of noise in life and it can be really hard to tune it all out and listen for God.  There was a point while I was singing at service on Sunday when I couldn't really hear myself.  I was nervous enough to begin with...but that moment of anxiety pushed me to let go.  I consciously thought to myself that I needed to stop worrying about how I sounded; that if I just focused on the words and meaning of the songs, the sound would come on its own.  I still couldn't hear myself that well, and I know I made some mistakes, but I had multiple people come up to me afterward and thank me for singing - so I couldn't have been all that bad, and I might have even reached a few people who were there.

I really appreciated Rethink Church's devotional today - it met me at exactly where I feel I am on my journey.  I am beginning to feel more bold and confident in my faith, but I still have moments of doubt and I still have plenty of questions.  I'm a very logical person - always questioning everything - so it makes perfect sense to me that a mature faith embraces, and in some ways even requires, doubt.  I believe that questioning faith is an important step for everyone to take - whether you were brought up into a faith or if you are still searching for something, its important to test your own spiritual boundaries.  If you have a question to ask and you truly open up your heart and mind, you never know what you might hear in response to guide you.

Matthew 7

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  

⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; 

and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.