The Most Important Question

This morning I was engaging in one of my most favorite activities; cleaning while listening to Beth Moore. (If you have never read/watched/listened to her teaching, I cannot possibly encourage you too strongly to do so.) I was feeling so encouraged and comforted by what she was teaching, and as I made myself a cup of coffee, I started thanking God for blessing me so richly with such an incredible friend/mentor/teacher.

I headed across my living room with my cup, intending to sit on the patio a moment and talk to my Father. But I suddenly stopped in the middle of the room and, lifting up my empty hand, I began to pray. I pray that the Lord will enable me to remember what I said word for word, because it was such an awesome moment to me. I prayed aloud:

"Lord, I don't know what to pray. I'm so overwhelmed and so stressed by the things going on right now. There's just so much that's making me anxious and I know so little about how to fix it all that I can't even pray specifically. All I can pray is that You'll fix it."

Tears started streaming down my face and I lifted my hand even higher. There was this swelling feeling in my chest as I went on:

"Lord, I'm just so confused by everything that's going on. And I don't know how and I don't know when and I don't know why and I don't know where....but I DO know WHO...I know YOU, and that's really the only answer I absolutely must have. If in Your grace and mercy and compassion, You would see fit to show me the answers to these other questions, I would be so grateful. But, I don't HAVE to have those answers. Glory to God, all I need to know is Who. It is YOU who I turn to, YOU who I rely on, YOU who will hear me."

It's funny, but this morning is a page right out of my novel, "Losing Faith", when the main character is listing for God all of the things she doesn't know, all of the unanswered questions that are driving her to despair and God asks her, "What DO you know?"

She replies, "I know that You are God. I know that You are who You say You are. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son Of God. I know that He came to earth in the form of man. I know that He was crucified for my sin. I know that He rose again and is alive today. I know that the Word of God is true. I know that they who believe in Christ have eternal life."

And God replies quietly to her, "What else do you need to know?"

Amen.