GOD'S E-MAIL

A friend and ministry colleague I'm mentoring/coaching seems to call me whenever something comes up in his life or ministry. Good or bad. Sometimes two or three times a day. While by calling he gets an immediate response to the issue at hand, it's not always convenient for me; in fact, it gets a little annoying sometimes. I don't have any other friends who call that often, however, so I grin and bear it.

I also have a friend and colleague who is mentoring/coaching me. We talk via computerized phone connection once a month. Between calls I e-mail him as things come up. He, in turn, reads and responds on his own schedule. If I write on Sunday, it might be Tuesday before he gets back to me. It might take longer if he's gone on vacation or at a meeting somewhere. I've been know to send two or three e-mails a day, but since they're e-mails, he can respond to them as he has the time and the ability to think about what I've written. While it's more convenient for him, it can be hard for me to wait.

There is an advantage to his slower response, however: it gives me time to think about what I've written. Sometimes I come up with my own answer to a question or problem before he has a chance to get back to me. It's like what used to happen to me in school. I'd go up to my math teacher's desk with a question, and by the time I'd get to her, I'd already have the answer!

People have compared prayer to a telephone call to God. I think it's probably more like my e-mail exchanges with my mentor. Sometimes you have to wait a while to get an answer. However, when you do get a response, you know you can trust it. In the meantime, you have the opportunity to sort out some answers for yourself. The only difference is that, unlike a human correspondent, God is also involved in our sorting things out, even when he doesn't seem to give us a direct response.

So send your e-mails to God. He reads them all and responds to them all--at a time best suited to his purposes and to our spiritual growth.