Open-line Friday... (Not to mention Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...)

     What I know (or think I know) determines how I act.  This is certainly true in my relationship with my husband.  For example, I know that he will be  chronically low on sleep whenever he works on a project, pushing himself to stay up late to get the job done.  So when he's re-modeling part of our house, I never assume that he's awake in Sunday School or church:)  In fact, over the years, David and I both have learned how to keep one eye on Phil and the other eye on the pastor... and we both know to lightly elbow Phil in the ribs when his breathing becomes too even...:)
    At the same time, because I know my husband is smart, very much into details, and able to do many different things, I trust him completely  when he says he is going to tear down sheet rock, tile a floor, re-wire something in the house... you get the picture.  I have friends who would probably cringe if their husbands announced suddenly that they were going to  rip out a wall and  who would undoubtedly respond with, "Thanks, Honey.  But.. .um.. no thanks!" I never do.
  By the same token, what I understand about God determines how I interact with Him and on a deeper level, how I respond to all of life.
  Over the past few years, I have returned periodically to a list of God's characteristics that are scattered throughout the Discover God Bible by CRU.  Since I am using that list of twelve attributes right now in my quiet times, I'd like to blog about them, one at a time, for a while.  Again, not to paraphrase a beer commercial too closely... but I guess this blog's for me =/  Still, I hope it will be useful to someone else as well :)
    One characteristic of God  that has meant a lot to me in the last few days is this one:
    Because God knows everything, I will go to Him with all my questions and concerns.
    Definitely, I've had questions this week;   ranging from the serious to the simplistic. I came across a BBC interview yesterday where a well-known financial trader was gleefully saying that the markets would crash - not kidding!  He was actually  excited about it, saying that another crash like the 1930's would be a great money-making opportunity for those who know how to work the markets!! I was stunned as I watched that, thinking: Um, what about the rest of us, duhhhh?   So where do I take  a big worry like that?  I don't have any inside connections on Wall Street, really can't even balance my check book accurately to tell you the truth.
    So I went to the One who will someday use gold for asphalt in His New Jerusalem:)   Really, Lord?  Are we headed toward a re-hash of the Great Depression?  What about the people who live in near-poverty or below already?  Speaking of which, what about my retirement fund?  
   And then there are more personal concerns that have been circling around in my mind such as Lord,  now that I'm retired, I have all this "free" time.   What should I do with it?  How should  I invest it?  And while we're on the subject,  is it okay for me just to be a bum on some days and not accomplish much of anything? (I hope so because I've sure had a lot of days like that lately =/ )
   And then of course my mind jumps back to the more serious ones such as Why is my young friend's husband possibly dying of cancer?  And why is this sweet little one-year-old going through another serious, life-threatening heart surgery?  And why do any little children have to suffer such horrendous things?
    I realize that if God can create the universe, the world, and me, then He definitely can answer my questions.
    At the same time, I understand that my finite mind can't contain all His answers. But what I can take in and what I need to understand, I believe He can and will impart to my troubled heart.
     How do I know that?  Well, God gave me His telephone number :)
     Sort of...

     Actually He gave it to Jeremiah but since I have his  book, I've also got the number! (Like getting the Neiman Marcus cookie recipe from a friend and then finding out everyone else has it too!)  At any rate, here it is:.      Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know."  (Jeremiah 33:3)  When God gave this incredible invitation to Jeremiah, the poor prophet was confined to a guard's courtyard, a peon in the hands of a hostile king.  Probably forgotten by many and hated by others.  Yet almighty God bent low and whispered this incredible invitation to Jeremiah, giving  him a secure line to Himself, open 24-7.

   The same line is available to me. And to you. There is a catch to this however... You have to keep the line open from your end, giving Him time to respond.  Psalms 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God."  In other words, God isn't into texting.  And while His line is always open, He doesn't hang around forever if our end keeps giving Him a busy signal.
   Call to Me and I will tell you great and mighty things...
   Be still and know that I am God...

   Because God knows everything, I will go to Him with all my questions and concerns.