HEARING THE lord

So many times throughout my life, I’ve asked myself: Can God really hear me? Does He really hear everyone? I’m only 18, and I’ve questioned it more times than I can count. I’m an analyst by nature — I want to see everything from every angle. I think so deeply about these questions that sometimes I start to lose faith. I start to question God.

But over the last few weeks, I’ve learned a few things that truly changed my life.

This journey started with anger. I know that might sound crazy — so hang with me. I found myself in a really angry place. I felt like my prayers were just disappearing into the air. I wasn’t getting answers. Nothing was changing. That made me angry — at everyone, even God. I wanted the breakthrough. I wanted to finally be through the rough patch. But when I got no answer, no shift, nothing — it pushed me to the edge in my relationship with God.

And because I’m an analyst, I started questioning everything. I just wanted to be heard.

My whole life, I’ve felt like I’ve had to fight to be heard. I’ve always thought, I have to stand out, I have to be different. But in this case, I didn’t know what to do to get God’s attention. So I did what most of us do — I turned to Google. And something I kept seeing over and over was this: “If you’re not hearing God, you’re not reading your Bible enough.”

Then I listened to a Sadie Robertson podcast, and she said something that really stopped me in my tracks:
“You hear God by the way it makes you feel.”

And that’s when it clicked.

First — I hadn’t really been reading my Bible.
Second — I hadn’t really been listening.

I was so focused on the fact that I wasn’t hearing God that I didn’t stop to notice how He was making me feel.

Psalm 37:7 says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.”
We often miss God’s voice because we’re looking in the wrong places, or because we’re doing all the talking.

Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

We build faith by hearing — and we hear through the Word. That means if we’re not reading Scripture, we’re likely not hearing God clearly.

So ask yourself:
When we’re talking so much, how can we possibly hear?
We can’t.

If we’re constantly speaking, constantly venting, constantly moving, we miss the whisper. We miss His answer. That can lead to more anger, more frustration — not because God isn’t speaking, but because we’re not still enough to listen.

God promises He hears us. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you.”

So this week, I encourage you to listen.
Be silent.
Be aware.
Read the Bible.
Let His words speak to you. He will answer.

The Lord is so big. He is so good. And our questions — even our doubts — draw us closer to Him. If you’re feeling like I did, I want you to know: it’s okay. You’re not a bad person. You’re just trying to figure out how to have a real relationship with God — and that is valid.

Never forget: you are gracefully made, and there is no place you can run that our God can’t find you.

Going through the motions

Have you ever driven all the way home but forgot how you even got there? Well that's an example of going through the motions of life. You're so used to that drive route that your body adapts to it naturally. We don’t think about it, we just do it.

You might be wondering what it’s like to live “going through the motions”. Google says that you “live without much engagement or enthusiasm, often performing routine tasks without a sense of purpose or feeling”. You do things not because you want to but because that is what you have to do.

After doing some research, I figured out why our brains lead us into this type of mindset. When we’re stuck in the same routine—school, work, clean, dinner—our brain goes into an automatic process. We stop caring about the outcome. Life becomes a blur.

The brain needs meaning just as much as it needs activity. When we get into this state of mind we do things with the absences of emotions. Our brain gets used to no emotions and that becomes your lifestyle.

Now you’re probably asking yourself, “What does the Bible say about this? Can it help?” Well, first off—God is perfect and purposeful. He allows us to go through seasons of struggle so that He can use them for His glory—to give us a purpose, to help us grow, or to allow us to share our story with others.

God tells us numerous times through the bible to live wholeheartedly, live boldly, and most of all live purposefully. In Colossians 3:23-24 it says, "Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly, as though you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free…" 

I remember at times in my life when I was just going through the motions—waking up, going to school, coming home, repeating. I wasn’t really living, just existing. It wasn’t until I took time to pray and reflect that I realized how disconnected I had become.”

God calls us to do everything to the best of our ability—whether we’re happy, angry, sad, or just tired. Just do it. But when we’re living life on autopilot, we can’t do that. We can’t live boldly or wholeheartedly—because we’re just trying to make it to the next day, without really living in the day.

In Matthew 6:34 it says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Focus on today. Worry about now. Ask yourself: how can I make a difference right now? Every moment matters. Every day is a new start.

Going through the motions is hard to get out of—but it is possible. First, recognize it. Be honest with yourself. Ask, “What in my life caused me to get here?”Then, have a real conversation with yourself and with God. Ask Him to help you out of it. Pray. Ask for wisdom. Ask for guidance. He will help you.

This week try starting your morning by asking God: ‘What do You want me to notice today?’ It could be a person, a moment, or even a feeling. Let Him bring purpose into your life.

I hope if this week you are feeling like you are just living through the motions and you're not fully present in life that this encourages you to seek help and reflect on yourself. Remember God created you with a purpose and a plan. 

You are Gracefully Made!