"And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." 1Kings 19:12
I was sitting on my patio one morning when a hummingbird flew so close to me, I could've touched it. It was so beautiful! I didn't dare breathe too deeply for fear I would shorten its visit.
I knew this tiny creature would not stay long so I drank in every second he hovered eye-level to me. I took quick mental pictures of its iridescent colors, the amazing speed of its tiny wings, and that bee-like buzz those wings let off.
Then it was gone.
I let out the breath I was holding and scrambled to relive the rare encounter. I wanted more! How could I make it happen again?
Stillness was the only way.
Same with hearing the voice of God. He's everywhere at once, but if you want Him to visit you one-on-one and speak to you, you must make your heart and life quiet enough.
God often speaks in a still, quiet whisper. Are you ever still enough to hear it? Could it be that an answer you're waiting for has been spoken over and over by the Father, but you can't hear it over the clamor of the radio in your car, the television in your home, and the standing open-door policy you have with your cell phone and social media?
Lack of quiet is a breeding ground for anxiety, confusion, and the accusing voice of the enemy.
Quiet and stillness send an invitation to the Father to come over and have a talk.
Be encouraged to make pockets of quiet a priority in your day. The loving interaction God has with your spirit is sweeter than anything, even the buzzing of a hummingbird's wings.
Shhh...God is speaking!
Friday, September 19, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
The Big Day
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." Eccl. 9:10
She was a beautiful young woman.
We only took a few classes together, and we ran in different circles, but it was obvious even from a distance that she was crazy about Jesus. Anyone could tell God had embedded in her heart a deep love for a particular race of people in a land far away. She was studying and saving to bring them Jesus upon her graduation.
What impressive passion!
What devoted love!
What heartbreak when she died a few months after learning she was incurably ill.
I couldn't believe it! Why call her home early when the laborers are few as it is, and so many are waiting to hear the truth?
The answer is none of our business.
What IS our business is pulling out the hope chest and serving Him on the good china of TODAY.
Have you assumed that because your goals are noble and Christ-honoring that God will give you enough days to fulfill them? He may not. All you have is today. Nothing else is promised.
Purpose to go to bed empty each night because you left it all on the stage of your TODAY.
Determine to allow God to extract every drop of glory from every moment of your life TODAY by His grace.
Don't hold back. Because there's no promise of another day, every today IS the Big Day!
Talk About It: I have been holding back, saving some things for when my dream comes true, but I've discovered that was bondage. God deserves my best today. What does that look like in YOUR life?
She was a beautiful young woman.
We only took a few classes together, and we ran in different circles, but it was obvious even from a distance that she was crazy about Jesus. Anyone could tell God had embedded in her heart a deep love for a particular race of people in a land far away. She was studying and saving to bring them Jesus upon her graduation.
What impressive passion!
What devoted love!
What heartbreak when she died a few months after learning she was incurably ill.
I couldn't believe it! Why call her home early when the laborers are few as it is, and so many are waiting to hear the truth?
The answer is none of our business.
What IS our business is pulling out the hope chest and serving Him on the good china of TODAY.
Have you assumed that because your goals are noble and Christ-honoring that God will give you enough days to fulfill them? He may not. All you have is today. Nothing else is promised.
Purpose to go to bed empty each night because you left it all on the stage of your TODAY.
Determine to allow God to extract every drop of glory from every moment of your life TODAY by His grace.
Don't hold back. Because there's no promise of another day, every today IS the Big Day!
Talk About It: I have been holding back, saving some things for when my dream comes true, but I've discovered that was bondage. God deserves my best today. What does that look like in YOUR life?
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Take the Stairs
To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. --1 Corinthians 9:22-23
I already know I'm risking being misunderstood, but please don't let it be because you didn't hear me out.
Ever seen a person who needs to hear about Jesus, but you ask yourself, "Why in the world would they give me the time of day? Why would they listen to me?"
Perhaps you approached a stranger and they were put off by your "religious question". Admit it, you felt awkward just approaching them.
Hear me when I say that you don't have to do this with everybody, but I am discovering that the awkwardness can sometimes be eliminated if we took the stairs of relationship-building instead of the quick elevator to rush straight to the God-talk.
Would the odds they will listen increase?
Could it be that the elevator is at times more about us "just getting it over with" instead of choosing to take the time to earn the ear of a lost person?
Caring takes time. It is a decision to work a relationship into the folds of our busy lives instead of crashing in from a helicopter, delivering the goods, and being airlifted before they know what hit them.
God can do anything He wants anyway He pleases. People do come to know Jesus through elevator talks and helicopter drops ; however, some, nay many, need the gentler approach of a friend over a stranger.
Bottom line: let's be just as sensitive to the Spirit's leading to take the relational stairs as we are to His nudge to take the elevator.
Talk About It: I was once led to reach a group of teens at a bus stop in my neighborhood. I was a 39-year-old mother. I had nothing in common with those teens. God showed me over that next year that a listening ear and a caring heart cause people to lay out the welcome mat on subjects that otherwise would be off-limits. Have you found this to be true?
I already know I'm risking being misunderstood, but please don't let it be because you didn't hear me out.
Ever seen a person who needs to hear about Jesus, but you ask yourself, "Why in the world would they give me the time of day? Why would they listen to me?"
Perhaps you approached a stranger and they were put off by your "religious question". Admit it, you felt awkward just approaching them.
Hear me when I say that you don't have to do this with everybody, but I am discovering that the awkwardness can sometimes be eliminated if we took the stairs of relationship-building instead of the quick elevator to rush straight to the God-talk.
Would the odds they will listen increase?
Could it be that the elevator is at times more about us "just getting it over with" instead of choosing to take the time to earn the ear of a lost person?
Caring takes time. It is a decision to work a relationship into the folds of our busy lives instead of crashing in from a helicopter, delivering the goods, and being airlifted before they know what hit them.
God can do anything He wants anyway He pleases. People do come to know Jesus through elevator talks and helicopter drops ; however, some, nay many, need the gentler approach of a friend over a stranger.
Bottom line: let's be just as sensitive to the Spirit's leading to take the relational stairs as we are to His nudge to take the elevator.
Talk About It: I was once led to reach a group of teens at a bus stop in my neighborhood. I was a 39-year-old mother. I had nothing in common with those teens. God showed me over that next year that a listening ear and a caring heart cause people to lay out the welcome mat on subjects that otherwise would be off-limits. Have you found this to be true?
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