In a Still Small Voice He Speaks

September 8, 2017

Good morning.  There sure seems to be a lot of “natural disasters” going on today, huh?  Fires in the west.  Hurricanes in the southeast.  Earthquakes in Mexico.  

I saw the other day that with all of these things going on, it appeared as though God was trying to get our attention.  It gave me pause, as I considered how the Bible teaches that God speaks in a still, small voice.  “Hmn.”  I wondered.  “How many people are listening for His voice instead of trying to put Him into some man-made model of whom they presume my Lord to be?”

We all have our own visions and assumptions of what we think God’s attributes are and if He was this then such and such.  Or if God was that then blah blah blah.  The thing is though, friends, it doesn’t matter what we think.  What matters is that He is.  Somehow we keep forgetting that we are here for His pleasure and not the other way around.

That being said, these weather events going on have gotten many people’s attention.  It’s great to see Texans and other Americans pulling together as they seek survival and put aside petty differences.  I’m sure that many are reconsidering a lot of things as their lives become more focused on internal rather than material possessions.  What I want to leave you with though is this:  with all of the chaos going on, would you please take a moment to be still?  A moment to listen--not to nature but to the Creator of the world?  Many of you who read this blog regularly know that I am in the process of doing the study by Lysa TerKeurst Uninvited.  The other night she brought out a point in one of the video sessions about the word “terrified.”  Its meaning in Mark 6:50 is explained by Lysa as “tarasso, which means to set in motion what needs to remain still.”  She went on to tell how too often we “innocently” start something that leads to something else and on to another event and before one realizes it, it has snowballed into something that never should have been.  Consequences for “one little thing” can have tremendous repercussions that one may not ever recover from.

In closing, I again ask you to be still.  Ponder what is going on in the world, surely, but more importantly, consider what is going on in your heart that God is speaking to you about.  It could be He uses a hurricane to get your attention but then again, as evidenced in the life of Elijah-- and to the nations of the world as when He said in Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”--probably not.  

Let’s pray!

Dear Lord, settle us today, I ask.  Still us.  Speak to us.  Refine us and make us more like Jesus is my prayer.  This life is not about what You can do to make us happy and grant all of our wishes.  No Sir.  It is supposed to be about what we can do to bring glory to You.  Oh that we would!  

Father?  Forgive us again and again for thinking otherwise.  May we exalt You today and every day is my hope.  I may not have publicly said it in a while but I love You, Lord.  I am amazed and in awe of Your creation, obviously, but I am mostly dumbfounded by Your patience, love, and willingness to give us all so many opportunities to turn to You--not just when crises happen, Father, but at all times.  We tend to forget You when things are going our way, don’t we?  Sigh.  Oh Lord, breathe on us this very moment, I ask, so that we might be refreshed and stand again in the midst of the storms.  I ask this in the name of Jesus, the Marvelous One.  Amen!