Communication…..We may not realize this, but if we do not communicate effectively we tend to create an awkward moment. You can probably think of a time that you had an argument or disagreement because of something small because you didn’t communicate something correctly. Sometimes we even avoid communication because we know that we have messed up, so we try to hide behind silence. This silence works for a while with those around us, but it only damages our relationship with God. We don’t tend to think of it this way, but our relationship with God and our relationships with others are reflections of each other. We can’t expect our relationship with God to be great if we are always getting into confrontations with those around us. God does show us in the Bible a way to make our relationships stronger by having open communication with Him first, and allowing our relationship with God to develop so that we can have great earthly relationships. Lets go after this.
Communication is not an easy thing to do depending on your subject. Some people get uncomfortable around others or in front of big groups when it is necessary to talk. We can’t go though life without communicating, so we begin to rely on our knowledge to speak to others. We need to realize that God created us for communication with others. Let’s consider Moses. After he fled Egypt, he went to live in the desert for 40 years and then one day he was walking along and a bush started talking to him. Now many have probably heard this story before, but think of how you would react if a bush started talking to you. That would make for a pretty awkward moment, but the awkwardness came later in his conversation.
God told Moses to go to back to Egypt because he was to tell the king to let the Israelites go. Now Moses was raised by the daughter of the king of Egypt. Imagine how that must have made Moses feel. At first he said that God needed to send someone else. God told Moses that he still wanted him to go and speak on their behalf. Moses did, and he probably felt pretty awkward when he started to talk to the king.
While most of us may never have to go and tell a leader to do something, we all have burning bush moments in our relationships. This could be a time where we hear a voice tell us that we need to talk about something with our spouse, boy/girlfriend, or fiance’, but how many times do we take the easy way out and stay silent. We have to be willing to have the awkward conversation in our relationships. So often people shut off communication instead of taking a chance to talk about the hard subjects and it breaks down the relationship.
If we shut off communication to those around us, we tend to become silent to God. We know that He wants us to be in open communication with our earthly relationships. We, just like Moses, begin to make excuses of why we want to keep something silent. Maybe you think that you will be looked down on or that you could mess up your relationship by talking about something, but in reality you are only breaking down the trust in your relationship by not being open with each other. Relationships are for you to share life with someone.
Silence has become our way of hiding things, and somehow we feel like that is helpful. It only destroys our relationships, and causes irritation on both sides. We have to be willing to be vulnerable and talk about the things that are needed, even if it means creating a very awkward moment. God was not pleased when Moses made excuses about why he couldn’t go to the king of Egypt. Why do we think that He reacts any different for us?
Lets start to do something that will amaze the rest of the world around us, and be willing to have the hard conversations about issues that need to be talked about. This could be as small as needing to spend more time together or having to make a few changes because boundaries are being crossed. Don’t allow yourself to lose out on an amazing relationship because you are to afraid to have the awkward moments. In the long run you will feel better that you did and trust will continue to build in your relationships.
This week, challenge yourself to talk to your spouse, boy/girlfriend, fiance, or just a friend about something that you may have been thinking you need to talk about, no matter how awkward it may be. We can’t be silent forever, and God will allow it to come out. He will be pleased if we take the initiative to break the silence first.
Be sure to check out the Dive Deep Ministries group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=68351964049&ref=ts and get involved in the conversations with others there! We hope that your week is blessed!
Dive Deep,
KC
