Quieting to Hear God's Voice
My father-in-law grew up on a ranch north of Austin, Texas. As a boy he was given free reign to walk the fields and hillsides of his family's property, hunting for birds and any other adventure a boy could come up with.
One day he set out into the range, watching the trees and skies for birds. As he walked he neglected to keep his bearings. Hours into his adventure, he looked around, realizing that he didn't recognize his surroundings. He called out for his father, his mother, his brothers, but there was no answer. He called louder, and his cries of fear grew louder still. But he was good and lost.
He sat down on a rock and the tears flowed for a while until he finally quieted himself down. And in the distance he heard something familiar; it was the windmill for the watering trough. It was faint, but he was able to tell the general direction. Following the faint sound, he found his way to the windmill, and from the windmill, his way home.
Have you ever found yourself lost in life, without your bearings? Perhaps you've wondered so far from the path of wisdom that you don't even realize just how lost you are. But once you do, fear and panic overtake you. In the chaos, the noise of your circumstances can overwhelm you and drown out the one sound you actually need to hear ... that "still small voice" of God.
Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave" (I Kings 19:11-13, BSB).
We have to learn to quiet ourselves enough to hear the voice of God leading us back to Himself.
"But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me" (Psalm 131:2, ESV).
“Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10, ESV).
Lost Or Confused
Daniel Boone explored the great wilderness of Tennessee and Kentucky. It was Boone who marked the wilderness road that brought settlers into the new land. He often wandered over vast areas of forest, living off the land and dodging arrows. Once he was asked if he had ever been lost. He replied, “No.” But he did admit that he was “a mite confused once for about three or four days though!”
Perhaps it matters little that Boone’s pride would not allow him to admit that he’d ever been lost, in need of guidance. It matters a lot, however, if our pride keeps us from admitting that we are lost without Christ.
"I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture" (John 10:9).
"For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12).
Everyone Wants A Winner
An army general went to lunch one day and ordered a broiled lobster. When the lobster was served minus a claw, the general summoned the waiter to complain. The waiter responded: "General, let me explain. This is a broiled lobster just like you ordered, but what you must understand is that the lobsters are kept live in a holding tank. They often fight and sometimes lose a claw." To this the general thundered back, "Then bring me a winner!"
Everyone wants a winner. Aren't you glad God accepts losers?
"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst" (1 Timothy 1:15).