Thoughts on “Hiding in Plain Sight”

The C.S. Lewis Journal, which consists of quotes from various works of C.S. Lewis, each followed by two pages of blank lines to journal about that quote, is a favorite of mine. (I might be obsessed with blank journals generally, but that’s a story for another post). I’ve only journaled in response to a few of the quotes so far, but thought I’d share here what Lewis inspired me to write.

I may make this a regular Tuesday thing for awhile. I’d love to know what you think of that idea.

A Quote from Lewis

We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito. And the incognito is not always hard to penetrate. The real labour is to remember, to attend. In fact, to come awake. Still more, to remain awake.

from Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer

My Thoughts

Lewis is correct that God is always with us everywhere, whether we are aware of His presence or not. The trick is to remain at all times aware of His abiding Love and mercy, even in the midst of a hectic day.

I find when I am very busy, that is when I forget to remember that God is there. And in doing so I risk the possibility of missing what He might have to say to me. For it is not in my time, when I choose to be quiet and listen, that He is most likely to speak (though sometimes at these time He may), but in the middle of a busy, hectic time when I am most in need of His wisdom and counsel to do the right thing, to behave appropriately toward others.

So why is it that we are most likely to ignore the presence of God when we need Him most?

Is it because we do not heed the command to not conform ourselves to this world? The world ignores God because He is seen as irrelevant, as a Sunday morning aperture. The tings of daily life are the province of humans. We are do-it-yourselfers.

A Closing Prayer

Lord, help me to always be mindful of Your presence, to listen when You speak to me, especially in the hectic times. And more important still to heed what You say and act accordingly. May Your glory shine in me. Amen.