Have you noticed how children are continually vying for their parent’s attention. Like when they are jumping off the side of the pool into the water and yell, “Watch me!” Perhaps when they are wanting to show off their latest trick and scream, “Look at me!”. Maybe when they are learning to ride a bike and the call out, “Watch me!” They want so desperately for their parents to take notice of them. And parents can’t fake it. Kid’s know if their parents aren’t really looking their way or just giving it lip service.

Are we often like that with God? Do we think that sometimes He is not really looking at us? That He has forgotten about us? We’ve heard the promises about how God never leaves us or ditches us. But is that just lip service? Is He really paying attention?

We never have to worry about vying for God’s attention…

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

Psalm 139:17-18 (NLT)

Can you imagine counting the grains of the sand on the beach? That’s how many times God thinks of you!

You don’t have to do a “10” off the diving board or master your latest talent. You can’t buy God’s faithful presence with your performance. In fact, You don’t deserve His presence and you can’t earn His presence. He is just with you!

God is with you because of one thing and one thing alone: His grace! As you look at your life, maybe it isn’t going as you expected. It isn’t progressing according to your schedule. You’re thinking, “The Lord must have forgotten about me. The Lord has abandoned me.”

That’s because we tend to interpret life by how it’s going at each given moment – by how it looks right now. And if it’s a little uncomfortable, if it’s a little difficult, it’s tempting to believe God has forgotten us. But God never forgets us. His thoughts about us “outnumber the grains of sand.” So, if you’re in that moment or that place of thinking God has forgotten you, think about the beach, and remember that’s how many times God is thinking about you!

Amy and I have two boys that are the joy of our lives. They keep us on our toes, but we wouldn’t trade them for anything. They are almost five years apart and between their births we suffered two miscarriages. Those times were devastating and we wrestled with the question, “Why?” And there were people who were willing to offer answers. They told us things like, “You know something must have been wrong with that baby.” Or “God needed that angel before you did.”

First of all, that’s just bad theology. Secondly, we didn’t find those answers comforting at all. In fact, they were kind of disturbing. Nothing against those that tried to answer our grief. They were very polite and well-meaning. They were just trying to help. And they thought the best way to help was to give us an answer as to why we were suffering. Because that is what we have been programmed to do.

Why? Because from the beginning, we have been wired to know the answer. When a child starts pre-kindergarten he or she is expected to know what color the crayon is when it is placed in front of them. As they get older they are expected to know the answer to multiplication facts and long division. And then the answer to history questions, science subjects, and matters of geography, social studies and government. In our culture, we are supposed to know how to fill in the blank.

But sometimes there is no answer. There are questions in life where the blank remains empty.

What are Amy and I supposed to say to our friends who lost their nineteen year old son and want to know why? How am I supposed to answer a couple struggling with infertility and wants to know why nothing is happening? What answer do I give to a family that has been praying for a prodigal for years with no return? How do we comfort those that are struggling with miscarriage like we did? With a pat answer we think will help?

Sometimes there is no answer. There are questions where the blank remains empty. When the best answer is, “I don’t know.” Can your faith handle that? Can you be content with not having the answer. Our programming tells us we must fill in the blank but if we knew all the answers would it really be called faith?

Check out the message in its entirety and let me know what you think.

A large crowd was gathered to watch the Great Blondin walk 160 feet across the tightrope stretched a quarter of a mile above the mighty Niagra Falls. Upon reaching the other side, the crowd’s applause was louder than the roar of the falls. A photographer there to cover the event saw the ease at with Blondin traversed the Falls and challenged him to do it again but pushing a wheelbarrow. So, Blondin did! And the photographer upped his challenge asking the Great Blondin to push the wheelbarrow across the tightrope but with someone riding in it. Blondin’s response to the photographer… “Hop in!” As far as the story goes, the photographer declined the proposition!

That’s how it is with our faith, isn’t it? We believe but with just enough doubt to refuse to jump in the wheelbarrow. It is one thing for us to say we believe in God. But occasionally our  minds reach the capacity of our limited understanding, our emotions are stretched to the point of uncertainty, or our beliefs are challenged beyond our willingness to follow and doubt creeps in.

When we walk down the long hallway of Christian faith, we find that we are not alone in our skepticism. Think of Noah, setting out to build a boat when it had never even rained from the sky. Think of Sarah, laughing at God’s promise to give her and Abraham a son in their advanced age. Think of Moses, the man who argued with a burning and talking bush, insisting God had the wrong guy. Think of every prophet listed in the Old Testament who had to say to themselves, “God, surely you don’t want me to tell your people that!” Think of Thomas who exclaimed, “Unless I see…I will never believe” (John 27). Think of all the apostles staring into the eyes of the resurrected Christ receiving the words of the Great Commission and…doubting (Matthew 28:17).

That’s a good group to be included in and assures us that doubt doesn’t disqualify our belief but instead gives us an opportunity to grow deeper in our faith. How so? Take a closer look at all of these characters and we see three things in common:

1. Each character acknowledged their doubt.

Sarah did. She laughed! Moses did. He argued. The prophets did. They often questioned God. Thomas did. He refused to believe until he saw for himself. Don’t run from your doubt. Be honest with yourself and others about it.

2. Each character pursued the answers.

Noah grabbed a hammer. Moses approached the burning bush. Abraham and Sarah must have had sex. Thomas placed his finger through the hole in Jesus’ hand. They were each willing to step into the wheelbarrow!

3. God showed up!

It rained. Isaac was born. The bush talked. The prophecies came true. Thomas believed. The disciples went to all nations. When we step into the wheelbarrow, God shows up!

So what do you say? Will you hop in?

Every devoted coffee drinker, noble connoisseur, or unremitting addict knows there is nothing like that first sip of coffee. That feeling you get when that first bit of scrumptious nectar touches the tongue. I am not an aficionado or a fanatic, but I do like to have a cup of coffee in the mornings. Okay, honestly, I like to have a little coffee with my cream and sugar! None the less, on summer mornings I love to sit outside with a cup of coffee (fixed just the way I like it) and my Bible – a little coffee and Jesus!

But there is something I have noticed. The last sip of coffee, while enjoyable, is not as intense as the first sip. The longer the coffee sits, the cooler it gets. The more I drink the more my taste buds grow dull to the flavor. And while it is still good, it’s just not as good as that first sip. I’m not arguing it’s not good to the last drop, I’m just making the case it’s not as good to the last drop.

Could that be how we feel about God? When we are first introduced to Him, have that initial taste, and begin our journey in relationship with Him, we sense God’s goodness everywhere. We sing without reservation, “God is so good: He’s so good to me.” But perhaps the longer we sit with God, the cooler our relationship gets. The longer we follow, the more dull our sense of His goodness grows. Circumstances mount, frustration abounds, evil intensifies and we begin to wonder, “Where is the goodness of God?”

God’s goodness never fails. It never ends. He is good to the very last drop. His goodness does not cool down or grow dull. Everything God does is for our good. Even in the worst of circumstances, frustrations and evil we can see God’s goodness if we take the time to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

Perhaps you need to revisit that first sip this morning? Stop and ask God to show you His goodness. Pause and look around you and appreciate His goodness. Taste and see that the Lord is indeed good!