Are you listening? Because sometimes it is not your ears that hear but your heart. And the process to realize that is a long one. Perhaps a hard one. For me…it has been both. People will tell you that you are being over imaginative. Too sensitive. Unscriptural. Illogical. Your heart however tells you differently. And deep down in your knower, you listen to the whisper. I did not grow up churched. I would not have ever in a zillion years classified myself as having a religious family. We frequented during the holidays and I believe my mother really made a effort to get us plugged into a church growing up but I did to feel like I had a church family that I belonged to nor did I ever feel like I had a relationship with God out of the context of my trying to know of Him. He seemed OUT THERE. Looming. Hard to get to. Distant. Difficult to know. Not really wanting a relationship, at least not with me. Probably an accurate reflection of how I viewed my earthy father though I know my perception was flawed by my experiences. And through it all, I can sit back and say I never recalled hearing the voice of the Lord till I was 33 years old. I was broken yet sitting pretty at a womens conference, desperate and drowning. And through Him, things drastically shifted and I became aware of His voice all around me. I was opened. And He was not just in a church building on Sunday mornings or in some bible study on Wednesday nights. He was not just in the Christian radio station in my car nor in the midst of the circles of friends that were believers but He was in it all. ALL as in everything. ALL as in everyone. The cereal aisle at the grocery store. The homeless man on the street corner. The woman and her kid begging for food outside of Chipotle. The passenger seat in my SUV. In my writings in my journal. The corner where I turned as I ran through town. The field behind our home. The storm on a humid afternoon. The waves at the beach. In the kids laughter over a campfire. In my very worst day. And on my best. And there, in the midst of the moments in between where I feel nothingness. In my head. In my thoughts, IN MY HEART. He was there. He was there to the degree that if a thought came to me and it was life giving, I naturally assumed it was from Him. Because that is me. I will go all in. I will figure the rest out later. If it is not from Him, I will eventually know. My knower will know. I no longer get tripped up by what if I get it wrong. There is no wrong. To me just different levels of growth so why not chance that it is His voice in my thoughts? I have tried other alternatives. Unfavorable they were. His voice, even pseudo as some may think, is changing the course of my life. It is opening up more than my ears to hear…and I think THAT is the nature of the Father. I am enjoying the avenues in which He seeks to reach me. He is individual and specific and He reaches into the very core of what I am walking through and speaks life and encouragement to it. Like Sunday. I ran 8 miles with my iPhone stuck on Taylor Swift. For. 6. I cold not change it so I obliged and simply listened. The kids had recently downloaded her new song, Shake It Off. Maybe it was because I had water in it still from the toilet incident but that song spoke to me FOR. SIX. MILES. I know He was speaking to me and it was incredibly specific. I had been getting stuck on what others thought and remembering who I am has been another process in itself. He used little Miss Taylor Swift to do so. Through non-Christian radio. Through secular. Through questionable. Through a book I just finished reading once again called, “The Shack.” And today, through my sons Clash of Clans game. It sent me a notification on my phone like a text message and ALERTED me very loudly in the midst of a very crazy morning, Your village needs you to lead them. Hairs on my neck. Jesus, YOU would love me like this. So in a very lengthy, round about way, what I am trying to convey is…He speaks. WITH YOU. He is trying to grab your attention. He is attempting to reach INTO you. It may start with your ears but what He wants is to grab your heart and speak specifically to it. Today. In countless ways. In numerous facets. In secular atmospheres that are not boxy or religiously undertoned. We do not need Moses to speak to Him for us nor do we need to climb a mountaintop to have some experience. We just need to listen and be present wherever we are and with whomever we are with. I do not think He speaks Christianease. I think His language is universal to the heart that just wants to be in relationship with Him. Walking in talking in the garden. In the hum drum of the day. In our tears and our sorrow as well as in our laughter and our joy. Through trials and seasons He is there and He is speaking. Are we listening? Because sometimes it is not just our ears that hear but our heart. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. – Proverbs 4:23
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 02:55:05 +0000
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