Take Time for Silence
One beautiful day a young man walked out onto a quiet beach. All he could hear was the crashing of waves and the breeze blowing gently through the trees on the shore. Nothing could silence the joy and peace that flooded his spirit. He walked over to a small wooden canoe on the shore and pushed it out onto the crashing waves. He was not worried about the dangers of the ocean, for he should have no fear. He was sitting in the boat, safe and sound, separated from the dangers below him. As he sailed further and further out, the peace that overwhelmed him became more apparent. It was just him and… well, it was just him. It became very apparent that he was alone. But was he really alone? As he sat there, a still small voice came wafting over the breeze. “Zach, Zach…” As the young man craned his head around looking for the voice’s source, he heard it again. “Zach.” Then he realized that this wasn’t a person. It was God.
So many times I find this happening to me. I sit there feeling as though I’m all alone. But I’m not alone — Jesus is ready to speak to me. It’s just that I have to take the time to be silent and listen to the still small voice that is always trying to talk to me. Our generation is always trying to rush here, do this or do that. We’re always too busy just to stop and listen. So many times we are asking questions and looking for answers, yet we aren’t willing to listen. I know we hear this time and time again. But how crucial is it? I’ll tell you how crucial it is: it’s the most crucial thing of all. If we can’t learn to listen, how will we learn what to do? How will we learn right from wrong? How will we learn the path God wants us to take?
Think of Samuel in the Bible. God called him multiple times. Samuel thought that it was his master who had been calling him, when it was really Jesus. Finally he answered. “Speak, Lord, for I am listening.” Why can’t we take the time out of our day just to sit and listen to God. “Speak, Lord, for I am listening.” The cool thing is that the answer you are looking for might be from God, but the words may come from someone else. When this happens you need to be open to it. You need to listen intently and act on it, no matter who it may be. Run it by your spiritual authority first but don’t reject it because it’s a certain person. If you’re not willing to hear it, then how are you going to get the answer you need? The answer you get might not be the answer you need.
This is my challenge to you: stop running around like a chicken with its head cut off! Learn to stop and listen. God is speaking. Will you take the time to hear His still, small voice?
The answer you get might not be the answer you need, as quoted in the article…
I would rather say it might not be the answer you want, but isn’t that the whole purpose of asking for help or direction? I have sought God for answers and when He told me what to do, I was reluctant. It shook me to my core to know that I could even be reluctant to His answer. Then I have to realize He knows what is best for me, and after all, I did ask. He is doing it for my benefit but ultimately for His Glory.
Initially it may sound as a still small voice, but make no mistake, as you continue to ask Him, His voice will not remain small, nor will you wonder if it is HIs. He said He would send us the comforter and we need to accept it as just that, comfort to our soul…
I need to take my own advice on this, and consider all He says for me as comfort….not something I should have trouble with doing…
Beautiful revelation. This same subject has been on my mind for quite some time, glad God is reaching the youth amidst times of proliferating distractions.
I want to recognize his voice.
For in him we live, and move, and have our being. We are never alone. Being born of water and of the Spirit has enabled us to walk in the newness of Life. We are living in Him and He lives in us. Because everything about him is Yea and Amen so should our life be in Christ. Jesus said: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. He has been speaking to us since Creation. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. We have something the world didn’t give us and the world can’t take it away. We have Christ in us the Hope of Glory. God may have given you a revelation about Himself or about Truth and now you need to understand your being and your position in the Kingdom. Jesus said: My sheep know my voice. That means we have and understanding of him whether it be from the Holy Ghost, the Scriptures or the Ministry. The people of the Old Testament died waiting for the Promise. We have the promise. Open that thing in you a little more and experience the force of Living Water.
Sometimes we forget the simplest and most powerful principles of life – this is one of them. There is nothing more powerful and helpful than spending focused time with the Creator of the universe. What a privilege. It’s a no brainer, yet it slips our mind. Makes me want to fine a canoe.