The voice of the Spirit is as gently as a summer breeze.
“Do not quench the Spirit.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:19
Are you living in the now? Are you hearing the Voice of God?
IF not, you may still be living in the past. Old memories. Old experiences. You may also be trying to live off another’s experiences and it just doesn’t work that way.
I am fortunate to live surrounded by the beauty of God’s Creation – Nature surrounds me.
The birds that I see each day amaze me. I experience their singing at the first light of day. It is called praise. I have momma birds who start bringing their little ones from the nest to my back porch to eat – to learn how to fly. It is simple and yet filled with the wisdom these mommas have.
It starts with the mom flittering to and fro from the nest. Slowly the babies learn to follow her and learn how to fly. Next, she brings them to the birdseed on the railing of the porch and they sit there with their little mouths open waiting to be fed.
Then the next step, momma stops putting the seed into their mouths. They start chirping and trying to get her to feed them even though the food is right there. Slowly she will guide them to the feed and then leave.
It is a process, but slowly they will learn to pick up the seed for themselves.
It is the same way for us. We may expect others to feed us the Word of God. Even though our Bibles sit in front of us – we will keep calling out for someone else to feed us. But at some point, we must start learning how to feed ourselves upon the Word of God.
God calls us to himself. He wants to feed us. But we must be willing to pick up the Word and start feeding ourselves – receiving nourishment. Likewise, the Spirit is the one living inside of us – he waits to feed us – teach us – but we must be willing participants.
We can’t keep living off of old testimonies – like daily manna – we need new experiences daily to nourish us. When we stop the feeding – the nourishment stops too.
I wrote an article a few years ago and I have decided to share it with you today. You will find it below the song for the day.
My Song:
We no longer have this cabin in Montana – but oh the treasured memories of being fed by the Holy Spirit – the growing – the encouragement – the trust building that took place there!
I pray you are blessed by these words:
We have a cabin in the mountains of Montana. The cabin is small and rustic, but the beauty of Creation that surrounds that little cabin is breathtaking. Standing on the porch of the cabin, we can see the Beartooth Mountains and the Crazy Mountains. The sunsets there will drop you to your knees in praise of God. There is a ravine that runs through the bottom of the property that will make you feel like you just walked into Yellowstone National Park. It is a long, winding road that leads you to the bottom of the ravine, but well worth the time to walk down. As we near the bottom of the ravine, we stop and listen to hear the sounds of the wind start rising up. A breeze flutters across our faces that makes us smile and wonder if God just touched us. Once we are down in the bottom of the ravine and we are sitting on a bench, the sound of the wind moves in closer and closer. There is also a beautiful sound of the birds and other wildlife that are calling out to one another with praise for their Heavenly Father. With eyes closed we can feel the arms of God wrapping around us and saying, “Stay a little while with me and enjoy the beauty of my voice as I serenade you with my Creation.” Oh how glorious it is to experience God in His beauty. To not only hear but understand His voice. To know that we are His and that He is ours.
I have been part of a Small Group Bible Study working our way through the book of John. It has been such a blessing to share God’s Word with these women who desire to have a closer walk with the Lord. This past week, I was touched by Scripture found in John 12:28-30: Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. ESV
The people heard something – some heard a sound that was like thunder. Others said that it must have been an angel that spoke to Jesus. But Jesus said that the voice was for the people’s sake, not His.
Why did they not hear the voice of the Lord? It could have been from unbelief. Maybe it was because they just did not want to hear Truth. And for some it was because they did not want to give Glory to God.
As I spent time this morning in prayer reading through these Scriptures again, I thought about the times in the past that God has revealed Himself to me. I remember waking up at times during the night from a dream and uttering words that I would think to myself later, “Where did that come from?” I have heard the voice of God in the wind blowing through the trees and the tall grass. I have heard the voice of God in birds that sing outside of my kitchen windows.
I remember times of walking along a beach shoreline and finding seashells – especially the conch shell. Placing the shell up by my ear and just listening – I could hear the sound of the roaring sea. I would take a conch shell home and clean it out and place it in a rock garden as a decoration. When I would pass by the garden, I could pick up that shell and hold it to my ear and still hear the sound of the roaring sea. Even to this day, it brings back special memories to me.
I asked several of my friends to share with me times that they have heard the voice of God. Like me, they too have heard the sounds of their Heavenly Father’s voice in their surroundings – through music, the sounds of nature, through children, during worship time, while at work and even during times of being in a store shopping.
The Creation Story found in Genesis reminds me of God’s voice too. With each day of Creation God spoke out the words, “Let there be” and there was light; sun, moon and stars; trees; rivers; birds and animals. Every time you look out at God’s Creation you are reminded of the voice of God.
I remember times of walking with my grandchildren and discovering all the many things that God had created for us. The first time one of them saw a flower and would run and pull it up and say, “Look Grandma, a flower. God made the flower.” I saw it many times in the sparkling of their eyes with rocks, weeds, rainbows and the list goes on and on. The children get it – they hear the voice of God and they understand Him too! They hear and see the Glory of God.
Jesus was all about glorifying His Father. I love how God’s response was – “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
Take time in the coming week to find ways to Glorify God. His voice surrounds us in beautiful sounds. Take a look at Psalm 29 below and read about the voice of God:
Psalm 29
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace! ESV
In 2 Peter 1:16-18, Peter speaks of an experience that he had at the Transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 9:7): “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” NIV
Dear Heavenly Father, I am so thankful for the many ways that you speak to me. I love the sound of your voice in all Creation. I love the many times that I have sat in Your lap and heard the love songs that You have sung over me. I pray today that as others come and read from this blog, that they will desire to hear the voice of God in their surroundings, in their daily walk with You. I pray for those who may not know Jesus Christ as their Savior yet, that they will hear Your voice in the winds of the Holy Spirit. Come fill us today with Your Joy, Your Peace, and Your Love. May all the Glory and Praise and Honor be to You only. I ask this in Jesus Christ’s name, amen.
Butterfly Dreams and Visions 