When God Speaks Through Facebook

It's been awhile since I have been online.  However, this past week I realized that multiple family members check in via this blog and have wondered where we have gone.

 

And since there is nothing more frustrating than a blog that is never updated {cough, cough....}, I decided I better pull things together and get going again.

 

So I went through some pictures and devised in my mind some ideas for a few clever little posts about...

....our weekend at the lake.

....or how crazy my day was.

....or the fact that if I step on ONE.MORE.LEGO this week, I may just throw them all away.

 

But before I ventured over to Blogger, I checked in on Facebook first.

 

A friend's status said this:

 

September 11th gained a new meaning for me today. It still represents courage and strength. It represents pride and a bond between people that love each other that is amazing. And today it represents heart wrenching loss. Today my sister lost her courageous fight with cancer. Never have I been more proud of someone. I have a hole that will never be filled. Today I lost my best friend and I will never be the same. I love you so much {sister's name}!! I cry for you tonight!

 

For just a moment, time stood still.  My heart broke in a million pieces for my friend.  I knew that her sister was battling cancer and that things hadn't been good as of late, but I had no idea that she was so close to the end.

 

Suddenly my weekend at the lake, my to-do lists, and the infuriating legos didn't matter so much. 

 

I continued scrolling down through facebook and soon saw this status posted by another friend:

 

We live in a crazy world where it feels like things just don't always make sense. We see loss and disappointment all around us and sometimes we wonder why didn't God answer this prayer or that prayer or why is this person suffering.

As a man of faith, I trust that God's plan is perfect and timed perfectly. As a man, I know that sometimes God's timing and my timing don't line up and I can find...

myself feeling lost or discouraged. I think at some point, as a faithful person you have to put your faith in God, His Plan and His timing. There is peace in that surrender to Him.

In my spiritual journey over the last few years I have changed the way I pray. I firmly believe God can and does work miracles (PRAISE THE LORD!!) for us. But I also know that His plan doesn't always include that miracle we prayed for or we know our fellow Brothers and Sisters are praying for.

When I pray, I ask God for these 3 things:
1. The miracle or outcome I hope for.
2. That God's plan overrides my own and others wishes, as His plan is always the best
3. That God provides peace for myself and others who need to live with item number two. With that peace will hopefully also come some wisdom.

Getting to 3 is much easier if you can find it in you to surrender to Him and be His child. Let God be God and you be his child. Seek comfort in His plan. Seek wisdom in His timing.

I don't know who this if for, but God put this on my heart today. May this reach you in the way He needs and provide comfort for your Spirit.

 

By this point, I am seriously fighting back the tears.  Not very successfully, I might add.

 

These two friends are high school classmates of mine.  I have no idea if the second wrote his post specificially for the first.  I do know that it made me think.  A lot.

 

When is the last time I really stopped to think, really THINK, about how God answers prayer?  When is the last time that I prayed intently that God's plan overrides my own?  Sure, I have said those words lately, even when praying, but have I really, REALLY meant them? 

 

Because, honestly, while I know in my heart of hearts that God's plan is exactly what I want, I can get pretty caught up in my own well-laid plans.

Here's the thing.  I am immersed in Christian education.  We have daily conversations about God's will for our lives.  I am constantly focused on the students' goals and dreams, academic performance, and spiritual growth.  I KNOW the right answer in my head and my heart; unfortunately, my moment-to-moment actions do not always show that I desire God's plans to squash my plans into the dirt. 

While still absorbing the impact of my friends' posts, I continued to scroll through my Facebook newsfeed. 

I noticed that another friend (ironically, a third classmate from high school) had posted a link to her recent blog.  I read the first paragraph:

 

My priorities are way out of whack. Prior to my trip {to Haiti} I really thought I had it pretty together. I thought my priorities lined up with what scripture said and I thought my life generally reflected that. Now I know better. I have let too much of my life be consumed with the distractions of my culture and surroundings. I worried about what others thought of my hair, my clothes and my home, about what they thought about me. I woke up each morning, wrote out my to do list and got it done. Usually at the cost of sitting down with a friend and building a relationship.

Ouch.

Let me say that again.

OUCH.

She wrote it beautifully.  It was exactly what I needed to hear.  In fact, all three posts were exactly what I needed to hear.  All different, yet powerful.  All different, yet intertwined.

I have no idea what changes this will bring about.  They may only be little tweeks.

Or it may be something big.

I don't know yet.

But I do know one thing....God uses whatever means He wants to speak to people.

Even Facebook.