Dear Lord; Happy Tuesday Father!
As you know Father, I didn’t post to PhatherPhil.org last Friday. It was odd for me, because I’ve conditioned myself and put time aside to write to You each day, but on Friday the words just didn’t come. For whatever reason, I felt disconnected somehow and couldn’t hear Your voice with the clarity I’ve become used to. I struggled with it, and even tried to force myself to post something, but in the end I decided against just…
Going through the motions.
Although at the time I felt like I was reneging on some “unspoken obligation”, I’m happier that I chose not to post anything at all rather than something that wasn’t of Your inspiration.
And today Lord, I came across a passage in Isaiah that brought it all into wonderful perspective for me:
The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us? Who will know?”You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
“You did not make me”? – Isaiah 29:13-16 (NIV)
We’ve all done it at one point or another Father; followed the worship “bouncing ball”, but done so without that deep communion in our hearts that gives the spiritual expression it’s purpose. For many years when I was young, I went to Sunday school and church simply to appease my parents. It was very much “textbook worship”, and throughout that period I never truly felt the deep, yearning connection to You that I’m Blessed with now.
You know our hearts Lord, and have no interest in hypocritical worship.
Thankfully Father, the “spiritual cloud” that obscured You from me on Friday passed quickly, and I even managed to gain some insight in the process. I find it wondrous and fascinating that even in those unusual moments when my connection to You isn’t as clear, that You’re still teaching me nonetheless. 🙂
Heavenly Father,
We thank You for Your unending faithfulness and patience with us. I pray that we all come to You presenting an open heart; with the lessons of Your Son firmly in our minds and enthusiastic praises of You on our lips. Lift our spiritual clouds Lord, and make the Holy Spirit in us shine like the beacons You intend us to be.
In Jesus’ Name we pray,
Amen.
~Phather Phil
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
Phil, you spoke my heart. I hate to admit it but there have been times when I didn’t feel God give me something to write but I forced myself to just right something. I also feel that unwritten obligation to write five days a week, fifty-two weeks a year. There is no set rule on it and God didn’t tell me I had to do that. I want my blog and anything I do for Him, to be saturated in Him. I want it to be ordained by Him. If He doesn’t give me something to write, then I shouldn’t write that day. I never want to be a hypocrite. I want to worship Him truly and faithfully. Great encouragement!
AMEN!!!
🙂 Thank you Lindsay!
Have a Blessed Day!
Thank you Jenifer… Yes, I did twitch a bit not posting but like you, I want everything I write to flow from Him, not just me.
Have a Blessed Day!
Honest and real post, Phil. I often wondered how Mother Teresa kept going after I read her book about feeling so isolated and apart from the presence of God. Thank heaven your ‘spiritual cloud” lifted quickly. We all go through dry spells but I really love the breaking through and feeling the arms of my savior once again.
Amen Jean. Thankfully, my “dry spells” have been very short lived as of late, but it’s always a pleasure to bask in His presence when the cloud lifts.
Have a Blessed Day!
This is a good message. It’s easy to get caught up in going through the motions. I seem to go blank too when I’m like this. And the pressure of having something to post does affect me. I can’t post every day just for times sake and priorities… God being the most important of those priorities. Thanks Pil, blessings!
It is Heidi, but I’m working to keep my focus on His voice and hopefully that will lead the right way. Thank you!
Have a Blessed Day!
Phil, I have been right there with you. There have been days when I didn’t feel like I had anything to post, but forced something anyway, and other days when I decided to just not post. I definitely had more peace on those days when I didn’t post. I don’t want to be hypocritical in any form of my worship. That scripture in Isaiah really speaks to my heart. Thanks for honestly sharing with us. Many blessings!
Thank you Lisa. I think it’s something as bloggers that we all run into from time to time, but I’m beginning to understand what His desires for my site really are, and am trying to follow His lead.
Have a Blessed Day!
Yes, Phil – been there, done that! For that very reason, because my devotional is daily, I work way ahead (I’m up 10 days at present) so I’m prepared when those spiritual clouds hover around me. The insights gained, I agree, are worth the temporary “separation”; sometimes I believe God is using these moments precisely to reveal something new and deeper for us.
God bless!
Wow… 10 days ahead?? I have enough trouble keeping up with everything God places on my heart one day at a time. LOL
Have a Blessed Day!
I love that someone who seems so much further along in their journey with God than I am was once in the same shoes. The shoes of being a hypocritical follower. Sometimes I feel like I was the only one who only went to church because my parents said I had to or that I was the only one who did not know God so deeply at a young age. Thank you for your honesty about your journey as it gives me comfort on mine that I am going in the right direction. It is funny you struggled with the writing on Friday and decided not to. I have been in the tug of war of do I write just about my faith or about what is on my heart. I came to the realization through prayer and silence that I can do both. It is good to know we all struggle sometimes on these pages. As always thank you for the lesson and insight.
Absolutely Tara… You’re not alone by any stretch. Everyone’s journey is different, but we can all benefit from the lessons and encouragement of other Christians along the way… I know I certainly do! 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!
Transparency is beautiful, both to God and to his people. It’s this that frees others to be honest.
So thank you!
Thank you as well Debra! 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!
Thanks for your honesty, Phil. Great post!
🙂
Have a Blessed Day Lindsay!
I’m right there with you, Phil. I don’t want to force a post. If I don’t have anything on my heart to share…that’s okay. I used to try to post on the weekends too. Not so much anymore. For me, I know the Lord is trying to teach me to let go. The blog world continues to spin just fine without my input. 🙂
I think we’ve all been there more than once Eileen, and I’m sure will be again. I’m working to post on His schedule, not mine. 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!
This is the second “word” I’ve heard on worship today. I’d love to explore the concept more. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come to the computer screen and had to force my words. It’s very hard to write that way, even more so live that way. So I’ve learned to step back, walk away from obligation, and take time to pause.
The world can wait. Jesus, however, deserves better.
Thank you for this.
peace~elaine
Amen Elaine… Well said. “The world can wait. Jesus, however, deserves better.”
Thank you!
Have a Blessed Day!
Ah…the “silence” of God. We all go through times when we just can’t seem to hear. Our “spiritual ears” are clogged, or as you put it, there is a spiritual cloud blocking the airwaves. Makes me think of our friend Job who cried out to God endlessly and met only with silence…until one day God could bear the meaningless rantings of Job’s friends no longer, and burst through that cloud, thundering His disapproval of their ill-attempts of making sense of Job’s situation. He asked Job if he knew where the way was to the abode of light, or where the storehouses of snow are kept…if he had ever given orders to the morning, or could loosen Orion’s belt…if he had the wisdom to count the clouds or could tip over the water jars of heaven. In coming face to face with the power and majesty of the Almighty God, Job could only repent and reply “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.” I wonder how much sooner Job would have “seen” God if his friends hadn’t been babbling on so long? How often do we listen to our “counselors” when times get rough when we should be listening to God, or just being quiet in His presence?
Amen Pastor Kris… I’ve often wondered how much of God’s quiet instruction we miss outright due to the “noise” we’re surrounded by each day. Thankfully, when we finally are able to find that Stillness, there He is. 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!
You put into words (much better than I could) exacty how I feel sometimes. I think I’ve gotta write something because people expect me to! But sometimes, I really don’t have anything to say and I feel like I’m just going through the motions, but not really sincere!
I’ve done it as well Allison, but I’m working to refocus on making sure my actions are truly glorifying Him, not just appeasing what I think others desire of me. 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!