God, how are you today?

“…and find out what pleases the Lord.” (Eph 5:10)

One of the most enduring promises that God makes in the Bible is that when we seek him, we will find him. I cling to this. No matter what I may be bringing before the Lord, I claim his promise that, as I seek him, his wisdom, his counsel, his presence, or his guidance, he’ll show up. I will find him.

I find myself regularly seeking God in and for specific situations that are affecting me personally. Maybe it’s a decision I’m grappling with or an issue I am perturbed about. It might be intercession for a friend or family member. I seek God in women’s ministry opportunities and leadership direction. I desire to gain his discernment and wisdom as I do my Bible study and in my personal quiet time. I love being in the presence of my Lord.

Today, as I sat with my journal open, I had the most startling thought. Maybe God would like for me to ask him how he is.

Almost every time I make a call or answer the phone, my first question to the other person is: How are you? When we meet people we know in the grocery store or on the street as we walk our dogs we ask: How are you? When we sit with a friend going through a tough time we want to know: How are you? What is important to you? How can I help? Sometimes we might be a little perfunctory in the question, not really expecting an answer. But I think most of us will stop and engage in conversation if the other person accepts our invitation to share what is on their heart. Especially if it is someone we love and do life with.

I am not sure I can remember a time before today when I simply said ‘God, how are you today? What is going with you that you’d like to share with me?’

But what if, by seeking God and finding him, he also means for us to ask how he is and let him tell us what is on his heart?

Is it presumptuous to think that God might have something on his mind he wants to share with us that might not be about us? I don’t think so. I think this is a glimpse into a whole new realm of following Jesus and what it means to be one with him.

Asking God how he is tells him that what is important to him is important to us. Is that not a characteristic of oneness? That we learn to care about what the other finds important?

Does it mean that God doesn’t mean for us to seek him in our situations? No. God cares about what we care about. He desires to be known in our circumstances and to teach us by his Word. He says that when we seek him, we will find him and be brought back from captivity. In whatever our “captivity” is, he certainly invites us to come to him.

But I sense that, if our seeking him is limited to finding him in our personal circumstances, we are shortchanging our relationship with him. We miss out on discovering what delights him, what grieves him, and what makes him pump his fist and say YES!

I can’t help but wonder what God might reveal if we greeted him with How are you God? And then stayed long enough to listen to him answer.