Seeing Jesus in Everyday Life

I am currently reading the novel “Seeing Jesus” by Jeffrey McClain Jones which tells the story of a guy that starts seeing Jesus.  No one else can see him.  This experience creates some interesting scenarios as you can imagine.

 

Although I don’t physically see Jesus like the character in the book does, I have learned to relate to Jesus as if I’m talking to you.  Yes, sometimes I don’t realize I’m talking to him out loud so I’m sure others think I am talking to myself.  That’s fine since most people have phones or buds in their ears talking to others not seen.  (Maybe I should get some ear buds too.)

 

I grew up in a church which made praying to God some supernatural experience as well as very loud.  I have known people who would yell and scream to God in their prayers.  Some would speak in tongues as if this was some sort of magical communication with God.  You don't need those methods to communicate with Him.  God can hear a thought or a tear.  My own personal experience changed after a visit to a monastery several years ago, my relationship has evolved into a more personalized interaction.  That experience totally changed me.

 

So, yes, I talk to Jesus and I also try to listen to Him which is very difficult to do.  The listening part is difficult because there is a challenge to separate Gods voice with your own.  It’s like tuning in the right frequency on the radio.  There is a lot of noise and interference around us so that takes constant practice.  Honestly I don’t always hear correctly but I’m trying.

 

Many days if I’m walking down the street to run errands I will talk to Jesus about the needs of friends and family members. If I know your need, I am talking to Him about it.  That’s how my relationship is with Him these days.  

Whether or not you believe it doesn't change anything for me. I know He is with me.  Do I think I’m something special?  No and I still get it wrong.  

Am I crazy to believe I can talk to God?  You may thing so but you aren’t me and you haven’t lived my life.  Make whatever assumptions you want to make but Psalm 16:8 says: “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” 

It is absolutely okay to talk to God as you would a friend. This kind of interaction fosters a sense of closeness and intimacy with the divine. It's about approaching God with honesty and vulnerability, sharing your thoughts, feelings, and concerns just as you would with a close friend. 

Prayer doesn't have to be some mystic or weird practice.  You don't have to be in a church to do it or label yourself as any specific denomination.  You and God.  That's it.  You don't need all of the other stuff or books that give you 10 ways to talk to God.  You just do it.  It isn't complicated but it does take practice.

 

The Work-Life Balance Scam

I have heard people talk about work-life balance but I think it's a scam.   To put it bluntly, I'm tired of working so much and not enjoying life.  There is no such thing as a work-life balance when you have responsibilities and have to pay bills to live.

I worked 38 years as a government employee and retired but I am working harder and more now than I ever did before.  I'm convinced there will never be a true retirement for me.  The politicians are going to totally deplete any social security I have been paying into it my entire working life.  So, I will be working until I can't anymore.

Depressing?  Yes, it can be.  I try not to think about it or get too worked up about it.  There's not much I can do about it anyway except to continue to play the lottery and try to enjoy my life as much as I can between working hours.

I don't know what a work-life balance is supposed to look like.  I think the traditional Monday-Friday 9-5 job is ridiculous.  You shouldn't have to work so many hours.  There are 168 hours in a week.  If you work 40 hours of that week then sleep an average of eight hours a night then you are only left with 72 hours at the most to enjoy life.  A person should NEVER have to work more than living their lives yet that's the world we're in and some, sadly, have less non-working hours because they are working more than one job just to support their families and to survive.

Don't come at me with a work-life balance.  It's a scam.

So, you may think I hate my job by writing this.  Not true.  I love my job, the company I work for and my co-workers but it shouldn't be my life.

What would the ideal work-life balance look like to me?  Let's start with a 4-day, 8-hour workweek.  At least get the time close to half of our weekly lives.  I have found that I usually need one day to run personal errands and then another day to enjoy myself.  A weekend isn't enough to do that.  

The idea of the 40-hour work week was coined by Robert Owen in 1817 during the Industrial Revolution.  The phrase "eight hour labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest" was the ideal with those who worked in factories.  At the time, individuals worked nearly 100 hours a week.  In 1936, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act which established the standard full-time employment of a 40-hour work week.  

Somewhere that work-life idea has gotten out of balance.  Eight hours of work expands to 9-10 and if you have a commute, that adds another hour or more.  By the time you eventually end the work part of your day, you are mentally, emotionally and physically wiped out.  There is nothing left for anything else.  

Somehow I am stuck in this place where I have other work to live.  I know I am not alone.  There is more to live than this yet here we are.  Getting ready for another shift.  I don't expect the work-life balance to be 50-50.  That's unrealistic but I would like to see more flexibility in the work-life management.  Our companies depend on us to get the work done and we should be committed to that but we must also do a better job to find a better balance.

 

 

God's Will in Hard Times

Going through hard times is no fun.  It isn’t something that sparks our joy. 

Are hard times part of God's will for us? 

If you are a believer, it doesn’t mean you won’t ever go through times that aren't difficult.  Sometimes the difficult places are God’s will for us at that time.  Yes, there are times of suffering that God lets us go through on purpose.  

David knew this too well.  He knew he was going to be the King of Israel, yet he was on the run from Saul who was trying to kill him.  Seriously?  He KNEW God's will, yet he was running for his life.

Even if God has called us to do something doesn’t mean it will be easy or painless.  

Several years ago, I went through a difficult period of time.  I didn’t understand it at the time, but I eventually recognized God’s purpose.  It wasn’t easy but I powered through.  There were many times that if I knew when it was going to end that I could get through it better, but I was never given an end date.  I just had to fulfill my purpose and endure through it. Often when we are in the hard times, we don't see what God is doing until we've been through it and could look back and see what He was doing and why. 

Serving God isn’t always happy times of an endless praise and worship music soundtrack in the background of our lives.  There are days of feeling that God has forgotten you.  Sometimes holding on is all you have. 

Some would lead you to believe that your faith in God will be all prosperity.  Sometimes your faith in God can be quite painful. It isn't all ease and riches flowing without problems.  Some would make you think that you have a lack of faith if you are going through tough times.  Ask Job about that.

I have learned many lessons during the hard times in my life about God, myself and my faith in God.  Sometimes I got through it well while other times I failed miserably.  We all complain so I think God expects it, but I think He's okay about us venting our feelings.  Once again, I point you to Job's experience.  I use Job because many like to brag about the "patience" of Job but if you read the story, you will see that he wasn't very patient at all.  He complained and vented to God about his situation.  Even with our venting, we must also keep the faith.  

The late Robert Schuller once wrote a book called “Tough Times Never Last But Tough People Do” and in his book he writes that “Every Problem has a limited life span.”  This means that whatever problems we have will eventually pass.  Of course, the issue I always have with that quote is that we don’t always know how long the hard times are going to last.  The only thing we can do is buckle down and get through it.  Things do eventually change.

Hard times are going to come and go.  Don't let the hard times defeat you.