The Soul Room - An Encounter with God
Why do I need to meet God? Is that much really at stake for me in this? Is this really a big deal? Tuesday, I was praying the Psalms when I read this: “Don’t turn a deaf ear when I call you, GOD. If all I get from you is deafening silence, I’d be better off in the Black Hole. I’m letting you know what I need, calling out for help and lifting my arms toward your inner sanctum.” (Psalm 28:1-2, The Message). When I finished reading several other passages of Scripture, I came back to this passage to ponder and meditate. It became the focal point of my prayers for many of my friends who are suffering and are in tight spots.The next day, out of the blue, I got an email from Jeanna Cantey (who gave me permission to share this). I actually had written in my journal that I was especially praying this for Jeanna! So imagine my surprise when she sends me an email. It started off like this:Dear Jim,Hope your day is going well! Not sure why I felt like I needed to email you, but maybe it’s a God thing, I don’t know.David said he talked to you yesterday, as always thank you for your prayers. I’m going to assume you are angry at God right now, I don’t know. If you aren’t, that’s good… disregard the rest of this e-mail. If you are. then read on…Jeanna is my kinsman by marriage (on my wife’s side - kinswoman for politically correct folk). When I read that opening I just laughed because she knows me so well from other pastoral visits. If I were a Catholic Priest I would have said “Last Rites” over her a couple of times. I have confessed to her that I was angry at God over her condition and so, like good kinfolk, she worries about me - when she is sick!!! We joke about this, but it is funny that she is writing to comfort me when she is the one who has had a double lung transplant and wrestling with rejection issues right now.I will read you the rest of her letter Sunday, because it is from someone who really trusts God. It reads like someone who knows that the one we pray to is called “Father.” This Sunday we will talk about how we “encounter God,” the real God in the Soul Room. I will tell you, Jeanna was right that I was angry, and the glorious thing to me is that it is not just a duty but a delight to be able to run to “My Father,” with all my anger and know that he delights in communion with me. It is really not anything I read or pray that will melt my anger, it is just being with God and knowing I have his friendship.That is good stuff, we’ll talk about it Sunday!Blessings,Jim