but what does He shout?

Today we read the February 4th selection from A Year with C.S. Lewis. If you want to follow along, you can purchase this book from bn.com for only $2.99 as an e-book.

Lewis talks today about starting again new every morning. And he's right. He doesn't mention (though he is no doubt aware) that God's mercies are also new every morning. So it works out well... some of us wake up in a foul mood. If you're a morning person, maybe you find this bit by Lewis puzzling. You might scratch your head at the idea of the crust that grows over Lewis at night, causing him to have to break it and shake it off each morning. But as a night owl, I'm right there with him. I generally wake up unhappy that I have to wake up. It's a force of will to get up and start my day. Usually within an hour or so, with the help of caffeine, I pass for human. But the first few minutes I'm definitely in high need of His mercies.

So I said above, it works out well. Just when I need His mercies most, there they are. And that's not just true about mornings. See, God is there for us, all of the time, every day. As Lewis has so profoundly said elsewhere, God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pain. Which is to say, He's there for us all day long. When things are going well in your life and you're happy, He's there with you, glad that you're enjoying this life He has given you. He created pleasure, He gave you so many foods to choose from, He gave you the soft, warm pleasure of sleep and the delicious pleasure of a hot shower. He wants you to enjoy the life He's given you.

He also speaks in our consciences. He reminds us not to overdo it. Don't eat so much food that you're miserable and can no longer bend over to tie your shoelaces. Don't spend all day, every day in bed – there's too much amazing adventure out there for you to experience! Don't spend all day in the shower... the water will get cold and you'll get prune fingers.

And He shouts in our pain. What does He shout? Many things. But mostly one:

I love you.

God, thank You for speaking to us all day long, in so many different ways. Please open our ears to hear You.