Hearing What He Has to Say

Let these words sink into your ears. Luke 9:44 NASB
Let these sayings sink down into your ears. Luke 9:44 KJV
Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. Luke 9:44 NIV

When was the last time you really paid attention to what God was trying to tell you either in prayer, through His Word, via a church service, through a book you were reading, or through an experience you were going through? I can tell when what God is attempting to tell me finally gets through. Things become crystal clear to me, my heart feels settled, my mind is at ease, and I proceed with assurance that I did not formerly possess.

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples as He was telling them of His impending death. He speaks these words to me each time I open Scripture. In truth, there is much He wants to tell me….every day. I am always amazed at how quickly He will give me answers when I ask Him questions about things that puzzle me. There are times He whispers truth to me when my heart is perplexed over certain issues.

Just last week He shared two profound truths with me that I needed to hear and they had a huge effect on my present journey with Him. The first truth was that from the time He formed me in my mother’s womb, His love for me has not changed, diminished, or been altered one bit. It has stayed the same! I needed to hear that. I needed the truth of His words to sink down into my ears. To really get it! Tears came as the truth sank in.

The second truth was that many times I can embrace people, teachings, books, music, etc… and still fail to embrace Him. Still fail to look to Him to meet my needs, satisfy my longings, fill my empty places, give me direction, enlighten me on issues, and give me my worth, value, and identity. That is often the reason I may not feel as close to Him, as connected to Him, or as sheltered by Him. He let me see that this is a choice. So now I start my days choosing Him. I choose to abide under the shadow of His wings, to live by His truth, to follow in His steps, to gravitate toward Him as never before. Throughout the day, when necessary, I verbally state the same things to Him. May my ears continue to receive all He desires to tell me.

Father, may I never again be dull of hearing. The more I take in Your words, the more easily I come to recognize Your voice. Speak to me. Amen.

He Provides What I Need

Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you. I Kings 19:7b

After a great victory at Mt. Carmel, Elijah is running for his life and praying God would take his life. Jezebel is convinced she holds sway over his life and she has convinced Elijah of that very thing.

This morning I am sad. My emotions are on the surface. The fingers of authority threaten to strangle me and the prospects for the next three years look dim. I have struggled to journal or even feast on God’s Word.

Elijah was given bread and water to eat. He was sustained for forty days on what he ate. He went in the strength of that food. What is it that God will feed me with at this time in my life? His Word. His Spirit. His presence. Although I have given up all personal plans I know He is still the Rock I stand on, the Tower I dwell in, the Refuge I find shelter in, and the Security I rest in. His hand is on me and I grasp it. His ears are open to my cry. His heart is moved by my plight.
As I seek direction He gives it. He has not forsaken me nor has He stepped aside and left me to fend for myself. My sadness does not offend Him ~ He understands this kind of sorrow. I do not know what lies ahead but I know who to hold on to in the midst of the storm. I must look to Him to provide for my social, emotional, and spiritual well being. May I rest in Him until definite direction is given.

Father, You control my life. May those who seek to hinder me not succeed. Amen.

Hand Delivered Gifts

You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Psalm 77:20

I have learned over the years that many times God will use people in my life in specific ways. While He undoubtedly “takes hold of my right hand” like it says in Psalm 73:23, He will also lead me by the hand of certain individuals. I can shut my eyes and instantaneously I am reminded of those whom God purposefully placed in my life to give me direction, counsel, help, and godly examples to follow. Even though they were my mentors, it was still God who was leading. In the classroom of life, God wisely chooses the object lessons, tools, and resources that will best accomplish His work in my life.

One of the hardest lessons for me to learn has been that while God brings people into my life, He must remain my focus. It is too easy to become enamored by the person and shift my dependency over to them. I somehow forget they are simply a vehicle by which God is working. His desire is that whether I am surrounded by people or journeying alone with Him, I am daily being brought into a close, personal relationship with Him. It has been a blessing to realize that while I may receive something from an individual, it is God who is the original gift giver.

He chooses to minister to me through people in a variety of ways. I like to look at them like the gift boxes in which God determines to place His gifts. Those gifts may be encouragement, comfort, instruction, affirmation, acceptance, nurturing, or individualized attention. How I thank Him for each person He has ever sent into my life to deliver such lavish demonstrations of His love. How precious to realize that each one was hand selected by Him and given in delight. And how touching to understand that I too can be chosen to be a gift He offers to another person.
May I walk through today in wide-eyed wonder as I receive or become gifts from His hand. Given on purpose. Given in love. Given for a time.

Father, Your Son was the ultimate gift of love to me. Thank you for the many times You still present a gift to me in the form of a friend. You continue to amaze me with your generosity and extravagance. Amen.

God's Self Revelation

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

I have a plaque on my kitchen wall that simply says, “Be still and know that I am.” When my eyes caught it a short while ago my mind was drawn toward Psalm 46:10. The NASB says to stop striving. In other words God is calling me to a place of rest from the internal storm that is approaching. The worries, the stresses, the disappointments, the fretting, the sadness. He is also calling me to turn to Him and Him alone to be my source rather than external things and even people.

Because the plaque ends with the phrase “I am,” my mind is formulating a list of how to complete that thought. God is wanting me to see the fullness of who He wants to be to me so that as I come to Him I come with expectancy! Knowing that He is God includes all that I am learning to see Him as.

What He is whispering to me is, “Be still and know that I am your Provider, your Protector, your Shepherd, your Father, your Healer, your Helper, your Counselor, your Restorer, your Advocate, your Defense, your Identifier, your Refuge, your Rest, your Teacher, your Mentor, your Cheerleader, your Over-seer, your Shelter. I am the One who knows you best, loves you most, will never leave you, will always be with you. I am the One who delights in you, sings over you, watches you, thinks about you, surrounds you. I am God!”

Today I need these precious reminders. I need to hear them from my Father and allow the truths of His words to sink deep into my spirit. I need His voice to drown out the many other voices in my head that clamor to be heard. This is a good day to take a drive to a large, beautiful cemetery here in Indianapolis and spend some time alone with a God who desires to be known by me. Why a cemetery? It is beautiful there for one and peaceful. But also it is a reminder to me that God is able to resurrect any dead places in me. He has words to breathe over me and life to infuse in me.

He will not fail to meet me there. I hear His call of invitation to come aside for awhile to be with Him. I accept!

Father, today the desires and longings of our hearts are the same. I open my ears, heart, and mind to You! Meet with me, speak to me, embrace me! Amen.

God's Invitation to Me

He said, “Take it up for yourself.” So he put out his hand and took it. 2 Kings 6:7

2 Kings is full of short but powerful miracle stories. The one I read this morning is just 7 verses long. In condensed form it goes like this. A man was chopping a tree down when the axe head fell off the handle and went into a lake. He panicked because it was borrowed and took the situation to Elisha. He showed Elisha where it had gone into the water. Elisha cut a stick, threw it into the water, and the iron axe head floated! He then told the man to take it up for himself and the man did so. What a precious reminder to me that if it matters to me, if it concerns me, if it weighs heavy on my heart, it matters to my heavenly Father. What a personally involved God we love and serve!

This morning, 2 Kings 6:7 speaks volumes to me in another way. It becomes the words whispered to me from the Lover of my soul each morning when I open His Word and drink in His truth. I have many books I enjoy reading that feed my soul in incredible ways. I feel blessed to metaphorically sit at so many people’s feet and take in their words of wisdom. I also enjoy going to ladies’ events. As they share from their hearts the messages God has integrated into their lives I am encouraged and enlightened as well. Many songs have reached my heart. Some bring me to tears and others fill me with indescribable praise! People come and go in my life that never fail to leave impressions on me as I see God’s fingerprints in their own life. But none of these experiences surpass the first one.

When I open the Bible for myself I am responding to God’s invitation to “Take it up for myself.” I am reaching forth the hands of my soul. While it is good to learn from others, I must make sure I am daily spending time with God in His Word. It comes alive to me in practical, applicable ways. The words that were penned thousands of years ago are just as fresh and alive today for each person who dares to read them for themselves. Not only do I find myself relating with the feelings and emotions of the people I am reading about but many times God shows me another “twist” to the story. One that is relevant for me. When that happens, my spirit takes a leap and I am filled with wonder!

Father, Your Word is so inter-active! As I take it up once again for myself I am learning and changing. How gracious of You! Amen.

God's Endings to My Stories

I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel 38:23

My daughter, a freshman at IUPUI this year, came home with a paper she had been given in her religion class. As she handed it to me she said, ”It will make you angry….it did me!” As I read it, I was struck by the arrogance with which the author defied the Word of God and the truths of Scripture. More than angry, I was amazed that someone could hold such a high view of their own opinion against the Bible. It caused me to realize how much I hold to the fact that Scripture is God’s Word and it will always stand higher than any person’s view. The bottom line is God’s Word is preeminent. If anyone contradicts it, THEY are wrong. If anyone ridicules it, THEY are gravely mistaken.

How refreshing and reassuring to come across Ezekiel 38:23 this morning. God reminds me of the end of the story! These words are to be spoken over the skeptics of any age. I may not always see it evidenced in the here and now but God WILL be magnified, sanctified, and known by both His children and His enemies. What an awesome thing to take in!

God knows how easily we can grow weary or tired in the battles. He knows the harsh words of critics can sting. He knows the things we read, hear, and see can attempt to chip away at the foundational truths of our faith. So numerous times in Scripture He gives us reminders of His victory.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if each time we read a story from the Bible we read the ending first? God always has the last word and it is a good one! Someone might be saying, “Yes, but there is no ending written for my own story yet.” Oh, yes, dear one, there is! Ezekiel 38:23 is one and so is Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for good!” What we so often fail to remember is that God, in eternity past, already “wrote” the endings of all our stories. Each circumstance we face, if we are His child, already has a victorious ending scripted for it by the One who will be magnified, sanctified, and known!

Father, I do not know all the details but I trust You to bring about the ending of every story of my life! Your words are truer than any words spoken by others. Amen.