Find Faith, and God becomes YOUR focus!

Yes, God IS my focus! But what is that, exactly, and how did it happen?

If you read my previous blog post, Atheist to Following God, you'll know that although I didn't believe in God, I tried to have a positive mental attitude, and while that is a good way to live (why would you want to have a negative outlook?), there's no real focus.

So, I would go through my day trying to be happy and positive, but there was no hook to hang that on. Yes, I could watch a motivational video, read a positive mental attitude book, and they would improve my mood for a while, but it was a temporary lift, and it didn't last. And besides, if I had a question, or needed advice, who was there to turn to? 

Since finding my faith, however, things have been very different - as God is now my focus.

There's often this mistaken belief that God is somewhere "up there", He is an infinite being, with massive concerns on his mind, He's not going to be interested in the individual. But God, because He is infinite, He is in everything and He is everything. So, when I am watching the television, God is there. When I am working, He is there. If I am gardening, He's there. He is by my side 24/7 and always ready and wanting to help. And He is at the side of every person who truly believes in Him.

So, now I find myself talking to God all the time, as well as formal, structured praying. If I have a decision to make, or I am not sure what to do, I will ask God. I don't close my eyes, put my hands together and pray, but I will just have a conversation with Him: "Lord, I face this difficult problem, what do you say I should do?" or "I need help, God, I was hoping this would happen, but it hasn't, please help."

And God answers me.

"Hang on! God answers you? You mean you hear His voice? How does that happen?"

When you remember God is in everything, and He is everything, then there are endless ways he can communicate with you.

God can be the small still voice that quietly tries to guide you. He can be a verse in the Bible that jumps right out and gives you the answer you've been seeking. He can work through someone else, who shows you where you have gone wrong.... But you have to recognise and "listen" for Him.

So, for example, I said in my previous blog post,  Atheist to Following God, about how God gave me work when I prayed and asked him for it, and it happened within a morning, I went from having had no work for weeks to having three new contracts come in. 

But let me give you another couple of examples, the first quite in depth:

My wife and I have a reasonably big garden. While most of it is okay, there was one bed that had become overgrown and full of grass and weeds. I said to my wife, "We really need to sort this out. I know it's going to cost some money, but let's finally go and buy the plants needed to fill this bed, then I'll clear it of the weeds, dig it over, and we'll plant the new flowers and shrubs," and that's what we did. When we finished the bed looked lovely. 

I work from home, and late one morning I had just finished a job for a client and was making myself a cup of tea. While making the tea, the thought popped into my head, "I think I'll go into the garden for a few minutes." Now, I can be quite lazy, so I said to myself "No, you're just wasting time, make your tea and get back to work."

The kettle finished boiling, I was pouring the hot water into the cup and, all of a sudden, a very strong feeling came over me that I needed to go into the garden. There was no doubt, that was what I was going to do. In fact, I left my cup of tea on the counter and immediately went outside. 

It had been very hot for several days during that time, and when I got into the garden, I immediately saw a major problem... in the bed we had cleared all the new plants were drooping and the flowers looked faded - they were in desperate need of water. So, I filled a watering can and gave them all a good drink, and within an hour they were looking a lot better. 

The thing is, I probably wouldn't have gone into the garden for a few more days, so the situation could have got worse. 

You may call that coincidence, but having remonstrated with myself about the only reason I wanted to go into the garden was to time-waste, and in spite of that to still have the very strong urge that was so overwhelming, I knew there was no other action I could have taken.

Therefore, I believe that was God saying "You need to go into the garden, your plants are in trouble!", and practically forcing me to go.

Another time, again, I was facing a problem with my business. I spoke to God about it during my prayers and asked for His guidance.

Most mornings, I spend time reading the Bible, and doing a Bible study (basically, I take a passage and study it more closely to understand what is the true nature of the message, and how I can relate it to my life). And this morning, after having spoken to God, I opened the Bible at random (I actually put it behind my back, turn it over several times in my hands, so by the end I don't know which way up it is, then open it at a random page). I sat reading the page, and there was a verse on the page that perfectly answered the problem I'd been having with my business! 

I sat there looking astonished at this verse - I then immediately thanked God for guiding me to open the Bible at exactly this page.

A caveat to all of the above:

There is something that I need to make clear here: God doesn't just do anything I ask of Him.

Again, there is a common misconception that just praying, and asking God for something, will mean it will happen, It might, but not in the way you expect, or it may also not happen at all.

Yes, there are paragraphs in the Bible that say:

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

"If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it."

"Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

There are many verses that appear to suggest that God is an all-giving being. You only have to ask Him for something, and He will provide it... but you need to remember two things:

1/ God knows your past, present and future 

2/ God has a plan for your life

So, you may ask for something, but because God knows your future, He may know that what you ask isn't right for you, so He won't give it. Instead, he may give you something else which, in the end, will turn out to be something far better than what you thought you wanted.

Imagine if you asked for a high-performance sports car and God supplied it to you... and the next day you died in a horrible road crash, because you weren't used to the car's power, so lost control? Now, aren't you be happy God didn't supply the car?

God has a plan for your life, He put you on this earth for a reason. So, if you've asked for something that doesn't fit in with His plan for you, He will not provide it. "God, I want a big mansion, the most expensive house in the town I live." If it is God's will for you to move to a different town, city, or even country, then it's likely He isn't going to provide you with the means to get the house you have asked for.

So, it is important to always remember God works by His will, not yours! If you ask for something, and He doesn't appear to provide it, there is obviously a very good reason why that is the case. But also remember, the thing that God provides in its place, will be far better and greater for you (even if that's nothing, because not receiving that high-performance car is surely better than receiving it and then dying the next day?).