Some of us can only hear God in the thunder of revivals or in public worship; we have to learn to listen to God’s voice in the ordinary circumstances of life.
~ Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
Beloved, this is most surely true. G_d speaks to us.
He speaks to us directly, in a still, small voice that – regardless of its volume – sometimes crashes through any barrier we might pretend to erect. Oh, we try to stifle His Voice. We stay loud, and around lots of noise and people. We make our lives outrageously complicated – and we refuse to leave that one last item of surrender in His hands.
And even so, He hammers into our minds and hearts with His words of manifold wisdom and Grace and Love and Comfort. And when we listen. There is no chaos. There is only Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
And we know it.
Yeah, some say it is dangerous to simply listen to the voice of G_d… But, you know what? This fool of a writer tires of the shades of “did god really say?” resonating like the hiss of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Let us be clear: There is NO DANGER in His Presence.
Would that we might abandon our puny rights to be afraid, and fully rest in the truth that He speaks to us; and that the words He speaks to us are Light, and Life and Truth. We can simply ask Him for wisdom, and He will give it – no ifs, ands, or buts. The trick is in actually allowing ourselves to believe that what He tells us is true, and to not be double-minded about it when we hear Him.
The main problem is often that the guidance and direction He gives us is VERY different from anything we might come up with – or even what we conceive G_d might have us to do. However, it seems that if we think about it: this is just like G_d. His ways are so very far beyond ours. His thoughts are way beyond our thoughts.
Remember though, that for those who have fully yielded themselves to Him and the truth of the Gospel, The Jesus in whom the Fullness of the Godhead dwells – dwells fully in us. And us in Him.
His mind has invaded ours. By His grace, through the power of His Spirit, we are beginning to hear what He says, see as He sees, and think like He thinks. We are in training for our emigration to our true homeland. And in the place of our true citizenship we will only behave with the behavior of heaven – for there we will be: Men being fully men, and women being fully women as we were ever intended to be. We will be true, noble, just, pure, lovely, full of good reports, virtuous and only doing things worthy of praise.
We will be like Him.
Oh my…
Yeah…
We are already on that path. Would that we might simply listen and participate as He finishes the work in us that He has begun. Surely He will finish it!
