God's Method and Freedom of Speech

Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening." 1 Samuel 3:10 (New American Standard Bible)

There are times when God works to show us what box we are putting Him in. For me, that box has entailed assuming God would, could, and should be speaking to me in certain ways, at certain times, and in certain places. Usually my ideas come from how I saw Him speak to people in Bible times or how I see Him speak to others in the here and now. I often have the idea that what is true for others in their relationship with God needs to be true for me as well. So I find myself trying to set the stage for such communication to take place. A trip a year ago was no exception.

My plan was to take my daughter to Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, and then get alone with God for a couple days with the desire that He would speak to me personally about a variety of issues in my life. I wanted it to be my “Samuel” moment. I thought I needed to set aside books and music and just have it be us. That is not what happened. Instead, God used a four hour conversation with my daughter, a phrase in a book, a phone conversation with a friend, and individual songs to give me some insights I needed to grasp. Each time truth got in I knew without a doubt that He was speaking directly to me. I came away from that time profoundly refreshed in spirit. How tragic it would have been had I insisted He do it MY way!

I learned to look at two areas of my life differently because of what He chose to show me that weekend. His communication with me will often entail external sources and means. My walk with Him will often include relationships that He brings into my life. As I embraced those truths and delighted in it being that way I found myself more content and at peace.

What am I trying to say? God knows each of our make up. He created us and wired us a certain way. He knows how we operate best and what our legitimate and intimate needs are. We don’t get very far when we look for Him to work differently with us than how He chooses to work. We are the richer for it when we revel in His ways with us and His knowledge of us.

Father, I relinquish my ideas of how things ought to be. You know best. You do what is best. I trust Your heart and Your ways. Amen.

No Eye Has Seen - Paul Baloche
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7HN-6Z43Ik&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.