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Listening for God's Voice

Opinions. If we’re not careful we can let the voices of others boggle our minds until that slight opinion we had before we went out and asked the entire world gets lost in the vast wilderness of what everyone else thinks. I’m guilty of this. I’ve always thought of myself as laid back positively and wishy-washy negatively. When it comes down to it, I just don’t want to do the wrong thing. If I don’t do anything then I can’t do the wrong thing right?

Image courtesy of photostock/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve sought lots of opinions when it comes to the dating world. Besides family and friends, I’ve consulted the professionals and somewhere between I Kissed Hand Holding Goodbye and Awesome Girl in Waiting I noticed I wasn’t merely treading water anymore. I was floundering in the sea of voices. That’s when I realized something. My family doesn’t have the answer. My friends don’t have the answer, and as great as all those dating gurus are, they don’t have all the answers either.

The hardest thing to come to terms with is that the One that does have the answers is sometimes the hardest to for me to hear. I so badly want the physical, the audible voices or the words spelled out in black type.

Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

It is hard for me to trust. Sometimes it’s easier for me to lean on the understanding of others. So my challenge for myself is to trust. I’ll still continue to consult others. The Bible says it’s wise to do so.

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

Proverbs 19:20

What it’s important for me to remember is that no one is me. God’s plans are unique for my life and for yours.

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 19:21

God uses others to help us along our crooked paths but sometimes I think He wants us to stop asking others and ask Him.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Matthew 7:7

Do you feel like you’ve knocked until your hand’s worn raw? Maybe you gave up the knocking and are using the power of your rear end to do that door in. Well, there might not be anything wrong with your all powerful tuckus. It might just be the wrong door.

If you’ve been slamming against the wrong doors or asking everyone under the 108 degree Phoenix sun which door to go through, I’m with you. This is what I know. I want the purpose of the Lord to stand. He knows what’s best. He knows what plans are going to fulfill His purpose in my life. I don’t know. Respected authors don’t know, and my third cousin twice removed sure doesn’t know.

Ask wise counselors if you feel like that’s what you’re supposed to do, but if you’ve asked and searched and sought and the possible choices have turned from a 24 count box of crayons to the 72 count box maybe it’s time to stop.

God knows what your crooked road is and He’ll lead you down it. Just ask Him.

Are you Listening to God's Voice? Interview with Bill Hybels

Day by Day

Godspell anyone? Ok, that’s not what I was originally thinking but my brain seems to be on endless album of all the songs I've heard in my life, and certain words trigger tracks that have been long tucked away.

I’m a worrywart and anxiety ridden, but hey at least I admit it. Lately I've felt the pressure of planning start bottling up in my stomach, the desire to want to know what’s going to happen. My brain knows that sometimes we don’t know what’s going to happen and aren’t supposed to, but the problem is my brain is a little far from my stomach. Even if my mind is shouting to the gurgling below, it just can’t seem to calm the storm.

The questions don’t help either. How long are you teaching in Phoenix? When are you moving home? Are you seeing anyone? I see lots of people thank you.

Maybe it’s because I’m 27 and 254 days old and aren’t you supposed to have your life together by 30, which gives me 2 years and 132 days to be settled and I know where I’m going to be in 10 years, do you? (Yes, that’s a Greek reference.) Can you hear the anxiety stew bubbling yet?

In ABC family’s Greek, Evan asks his girlfriend Casey that question. “I know where I wanna be in 10 years, do you?” Casey doesn't answer but repeats the question to her ex-boyfriend, but soon to be boyfriend, then ex-boyfriend, then boyfriend again…oh, the beauty of college sitcoms centered around Greek life…Cappie answers, “I wanna be with you.”

Ok, so maybe it’s not the best show ever made but isn't that what we should be saying to God? I don’t know where I’m going to be in 10 years or 10 months or what I’ll even be doing in 10 days, but I know I want to be on track with God.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7

The thought of me being in control of my life is actually pretty terrifying so I’m thankful there is Someone looking out for me 24/7. If I keep pursuing Him, He will direct by steps, little by little, day by day.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Does a dad teach his kid to ride a bike the first time by sitting him on top of the seat, saying go, and pushing him out onto the looming asphalt? No. He probably holds his hand, runs alongside him, and lets go when he feels the kid is ready.

Let God hold your hand. He’ll lead you along the looming asphalt even if it is terrifying. You might not know what is around the corner, but God does and when the time is right He’ll show you. Until then, follow him, day by day.

14 Bible Verses For When I Can't Understand God's Plan

Victors (And no, I'm not talking about Hunger Games)

I’m so glad we can be conquerors through Christ, aren’t you? Battles are taking place all the time. We have big battles in our lives that are hard to forget, and then we have daily battles so small we don’t even realize they’re waging. I’m reminded of my recent battle often. The memories are in the scent of Japanese Cherry Blossom and the melodic harmony of Revelation 19. They’re in the red ThermaCare boxes that line the bottom shelves at Target and the bright light that radiates from my iPad at night. I could have thrown out the Japanese Cherry Blossom or stopped listening to Revelation 19, but instead I craved it because during one of the most difficult times in my life I clung to the message that is at the end of all three parts of the hymn: He is wonderful.

Luke 4:1-13 gives us the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil.

 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” ⁴ And Jesus answered him, “It is written,‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” ⁵ And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, ⁶ and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. ⁷ If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
    and him only shall you serve.’”

⁹ And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    to guard you,’

¹¹ and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

¹² And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”¹³ And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Jesus resisted temptation and so can we because He lives in us.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever—

John 14:16 AMP

My temptation during my 60 Days with a Grapefruit was to lose the promise of the goodness of God and the strength He promises to His children. With Joyce Meyer’s many messages ringing through my head, I knew if I let me mind slip and start thinking negatively everything was going to plummet very quickly. Did I always maintain a positive attitude? No. My body was already falling apart and there was little I could do about it except take endless bubble baths with Japanese Cherry Blossom and open countless boxes of ThermaCare heating pads. I could control my mind however and that’s why when I felt I was at my breaking point I pushed the sweet promises of Revelation 19 out of my lips. 

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

James 1:12

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:56-58

Whatever temptation is knocking at the door of your heart or trying to squeeze itself into the small but powerful crevices of your mind, remain steadfast. Christ promises that we can. We will have complete victory when we see our Father in the glorious heavenly realms, but while we wait and walk…or sometimes drag…ourselves down the beautifully crooked paths he has set before us, we can victory now. Victory to know whatever our circumstance is, it is temporary, but also knowing through all things God is still good.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 

Romans 8:37

We can be conquerors, victors, because Christ has had victory first.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

I John 5:3-4

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 2:18

If something is pulling your heart in the wrong direction, hold on to these promises from the God that loves you so. He cares for you and can help you stand strong.

Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. ¹³ And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

1 Chronicals 29:12-13

His strength is available to you. The same hands that formed the world into being and raised Jarius’ daughter from the dead are offered to you.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

If you’re too weak to reach out and take His hands, let go. Let His loving Hands catch you, comfort you, and give you are the strength you need to be a victor in Christ.

60 Days with a Grapefruit

No, I didn’t carry a grapefruit around for 60 days like Flat Stanley, taking pictures of it at the dinner table and buckled in the passenger seat of the car. I did carry it, but in my stomach.  At the time of my MRI, the cyst measured 10 cm, but by surgery had filled my entire abdominal cavity.

The Grapefruit

I knew about the cyst halfway into the journey and had to wait another month for surgery. After already being in pain for four weeks, four more seemed inconceivable. I began to brainstorm.  How does God want to use in me this month? 

During the experience I had held onto Romans 8:28. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” But as the pain grew worse and it began to have a greater impact on my daily life, the good became harder and harder to see.

The pain grew from a small irritant in my side to an agony that radiated from my back down to my calf. My prayers became cries and my reaching hands became grasps of desperation for strength I knew I didn’t have, but my Dad did. 

At one point, I had the words of Jesus echo through my mind. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Matthew Henry’s commentary gives a beautiful explanation of this verse.

“That our Lord Jesus, even when he was thus forsaken of his Father, kept hold of him as his God, notwithstanding; My God, my God; though forsaking me, yet mine. Christ was God’s servant in carrying on the work of redemption, to him he was to make satisfaction, and by him to be carried through and crowned, and upon that account he calls him his God; for he was now doing his will… supported him, and bore him up, that even in the depth of his sufferings God was his God, and this he resolves to keep fast hold of.”

I had come up with a list of ways I was going to make something of the trial, and I would love to say I accomplished them, but reflecting two weeks after surgery, I see that what I mostly did was cling. I grabbed onto the God of the Universe that despite all the aching and sleepless nights, loved me through every second of that excruciating pain.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:16 NIV

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Romans 8:35, 37 NIV

When people think of God and trials it comes out in a lot of ways. Why did God let this happen? Why did God make that happen? Where was God? I may never know the complete impact that 60 days had on my life, but I know I did emerge with greater thanksgiving and greater joy than I’ve felt in a long time.

After I started healing from the surgery, small things began to bring me joy when I had taken them for granted before.

-Driving a car

-Sleeping through the night

-Making dinner

-Fitting in my clothes

-Being able to do my job

-Attending social events

When I’m sick with a cold, the day I can take the Kleenex box out of my bed and put the garbage can back in the bathroom is a good day. I’m so grateful to be able to go somewhere and not stash tissues or DayQuil in my purse, but it fades. In Battlefield of the Mind, Joyce Meyer encourages readers to “Remember the good times” and sites Psalm 143:5.

I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I ponder the work of Your hands.

In the scripture David is crying out from a desperate place and wants to remember the good times. When I read it, it hit me in a different way. I want to remember how God healed me, how He worked through the hands of the surgeon to restore my body. I want to remember and be thankful.  

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 100:4 NIV

Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.

Hebrews 13:15 AMP

Yes, I had 60 days of pain, but mine was curable. A lot of people aren’t that lucky and instead they spend years or even a lifetime in pain or struggling with an illness.  I’m blessed, so very blessed.

I also learned my teeter-totter of life was out of whack. During the end of this experience I couldn’t do a whole lot. Who wants to be stuck in a chair with four heating pads on their body watching the clock until it’s safe to take another dose of pain medication? Not this girl. In the end I didn’t have a choice, and it forced me to slow down.  I had been sitting really hard on that busy side of the teeter-totter, putting too much emphasis on things that weren’t really important. Unfortunately it took an elephant of a situation to sit on the other side to make me lose the firm footing I had in disorganized priorities. 

Being a teacher, my life is full of lessons and takeaways and as I try to stand back from this experience and see what it all meant, I know I can’t fully grasp it yet and maybe I never will. What I do see is a desperation for God that drew me closer to Him, newfound appreciation in the daily tasks of life, and the fact that taking care of me is important, not only when I’m sick but every day.

The beauty of belonging to the beloved is that we belong to Him always. It doesn’t matter what our lives look like right now, if we’re on top of the world or wondering if its storms are going to engulf us. He’s there, standing strong against the winds and rain, and if the downpour has made your vision blurry, call out. He’ll hear and come find you.

Battling the Unknown

What makes you fearful? Beauty and the Beast going into the Disney vault? Not having enough time to make a Starbucks stop on the way to work? Bungee jumping? A bad phone call from the doctor? I’ve seen the doctor phone call scene portrayed in movies and heard it references in messages at church, but never saw myself at the end of that line, until recently.

I’ve been dealing with some health issues and when various test results came back fuzzy, that infamous doctor’s phone call sent me spinning into a pit of fear. I knew I needed to grab onto the top of that ditch and pull myself out of it, but how? While I clung to the edge with the worst case scenarios pulling at my ankles and God’s promises imminent in the open air, I wish I could have told that frightened girl something. Word Up. My worst enemy was the negative thoughts filling my mind.

As an avid listener of Joyce Meyer, I had remembered hearing one of her podcasts about a battle with her health. During that time, she had a phrase she would often repeat to herself. I remember marveling at the positivity and gusto Joyce had in her phrase and determination to be optimistic. What I didn’t know was that I was going to get my chance to test my positivity in the coming months.

In the midst of diagnostic tests, I was talking to a friend one night about the phrase Joyce Meyer said to herself and how I was frustrated I couldn’t remember the exact words. “Why don’t you think of your own?” she said. I pondered it for a second and with nothing shouting out at me, I kept the idea close at bay.

Not too long after, I had two little words come to mind, not all the creative or all that inspiring, but simple and straight to the point. Word Up. Now people use the word “up” in a lot of phrases.  
Dress up: Put on your best clothes. 
Cheer up: Put on your best smile. 
Freshen up: Put on your best…foundation for your shiny nose in the 1950’s…yea, I don’t think people use that one as much anymore. 
Anyways, the message to me was simple. Put the Word of God in your mind. If I put the Word of God in my mind, I could push all those negative fear ridden thoughts out my ear canal and have them crash on the ground below.

In between some of my tests, I was doing my routine cleaning when “Voice of Truth” by Casting Crowns blasted through my speakers.

But the voice of truth tells me a different story

And the voice of truth says "Do not be afraid!"
And the voice of truth says "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

This Casting Crowns album came out in 2003, and I’d heard the song countless times, but the message stuck that morning. I decided in that moment, that no matter where God was leading me, it would be for His glory.

In Joyce Meyer’s “Power Thoughts”, she gives twelve statements to help readers embrace God’s truth. The sixth power thought is “I trust God completely; there is no need to worry.” This is something I tried to jam in my head and when I felt the worry closing in, I would kick it out with this truth.

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

Psalm 27:5 NIV

Ephesians 6:16

In “The Full Armor of God”, Larry Richards talks about the combat strategies of the Roman army. He writes, “When engaged in close combat with an enemy, the Roman soldier held the shield in front of him. But when an advancing legion was attached with plumbata [weapons], the Romans maintained their tight ranks and lifted their shields over their heads to fashion a roof…Most of the darts hurled by the enemy simply bounced off.” I held this image in my head, mentally putting up my shield of faith against the flaming arrows of fear being hurled at me by the enemy. I envisioned not putting up one shield, but an army of shields so that no matter how many darts were thrown, I would be protected.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.

Ephesians 6:16 ESV

After grabbing on to God’s truth, I was able to let God gently push me out of that pit filled with worst-case scenario snakes and stand on firmer ground. My last test was an MRI, and the first song to blast through the headphones of that diagnostic machine was “I Am” by Crowder.

There's no space that His love can't reach

There's no place where we can't find peace
There's no end to amazing grace

Take me in with Your arms spread wide
Take me in like an orphan child
Never let go
Never leave my side
 
I am
Holding on to You
I am
Holding on to You
In the middle of the storm
I am holding on
I am

God has a sense of humor and more love for us than we can ever imagine. There’s no place that his love can’t reach, and there’s no place where we can’t find peace. It’s like God was reaching his hand into that tiny tube and saying “It’s ok. I’m here.” The MRI brought encouraging test results and for that I am praising God.

Do I always feel positive and walk around with a Barbie smile plastered on my face? No. I’m only human, but having a toolbox of God’s truths nearby definitely has helped. When I feel myself slipping, I open the box and try to knock some of those precious tools into my head. Even if my heart still feels heavy, getting my head in the right place has helped to get the two in sync.

Joyce Meyer Power Thought 3: I will not live in fear.

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

Your brain is an important body part. Usually when people talk about taking care of it, they evoke gentleness. When you are passed a newborn, what does the mom say? Be careful with the head. This is true with the physical. We should take good care of this vital organ, but when talking about the spiritual I have found I need to be anything but gentle. I need to be forceful in battling the enemy’s lies, mentally kicking, screaming, knocking, whatever it takes to get those lies out and replace them with the truth. So my friend, if you find yourself in a tough situation, don’t tiptoe around the battlefield. Take up that shield of faith. Word up, and fight with everything you’ve got because God hasn’t given you a spirit of fear, but of power!

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