This last Sunday, while waiting for the service to start in a church which Sue and I visited, I purposefully put my spiritual antenna up to see if God would speak to me about, well anything. I figured, being in God’s house is the best place to hear his voice right?
John 10:27
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
You see, I believe God speaks more often than we realize, but because we are so preoccupied with “stuff” like things around us, worry, desire and a multitude of other distractions, we don’t hear, or dare I say we “Can’t Hear”.
There was a man most of us are familiar with in the Old Testament called Jonah, who was a prophet. Although he was a man of God who could hear God’s voice, he chose not to do as God directed and therefore, God’s voice became silent. I think we are often in a similar situation where we either forgot what God spoke to us about or we just ignored it because we had other things to do. Look what happened when life was “Squeezing” him and pain was forcing him to seek God’s help.
Jonah 2:2
And he said,
“I called out of my distress to the LORD,
And He answered me.
I cried for help from the depth of Sheol;
You heard my voice.
I don’t think God always chooses pain to motivate us to seek his advise and counsel, but I do believe He often leaves us to our own path until we realize the road ahead of us is far more dangerous than we expected. Then when fear or pain drives us towards seeking God’s intervention we hear.
Let me get back to my original story about my encounter at church. Here I am, trying to be sensitive to God’s voice, should he desire to speak, and the Lord whispers to me to take a good look at this man holding his young son of about 9-10 months old.
The Lord spoke to me and said, “What do you See?”
Being a smart man 🤓I said, “Lord what should I see?
Do you notice that young son is finding great security and comfort from resting on his father’s shoulder? He can look at anything or anyone and not be concerned or afraid. Then he spoke the word I needed to hear. That is my desire for you Dale, but it requires your trust.
Let me close with one of my favorite portions of scripture from Proverbs. May this illustration and the scripture help you to relax on your Heavenly Fathers shoulder. It’s what I need to do and I would expect you do as well.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Blessing to all who hunger to hear.
Pastor Dale
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