Friday, May 09, 2014

Hearing God in your hurried pace of life



  Sometimes the hectic pace of life is deafening. The alarms sounds, the day starts and we hit the ground running. The thought of taking time to enter our day on our knees is almost uncomfortable because the list of our "to dos" is waiting...., the clock is ticking, and the schedule has begun.
We race from one activity to the next and maybe, just maybe, in this hurried state we think to ask God to bless our work, to be with us,.... to keep up.
We reason that God will understand because He knows the mountain of responsibilities that we face. But its IMPOSSIBLE to hear God in the chaos of life.
Elijah, one of God's great prophets, experienced this firsthand. He was used to hearing God in a personal way. God spoke to him in the quiet moments when he wasn't distracted.
A great and powerful wind came, but God wasn't in the wind. Then came an earthquake and fire, but God was not in there either. A gentle whisper came, and Elijah heard His voice.

 I wonder if most of the time we just plain miss His presence because we don't slow down long enough or get quiet enough to hear. In Psalm 46:10 we are told to "Be still and know that I am God."
Sometimes we expect God to be more obvious. We want Him to give us a sign. But God wants us to train our ear to hear His voice. He wants us to unplug... unplug from the email, the voicemail, the TV, whatever mobil device we bury our face into and actually APPRECIATE SILENCE.
He wants our undivided attention so He can bring real TRANSFORMATION from the inside out.
So how does that look for you? Are you running a frantic race day in and day out? Feeling worn out and exhausted? Or... do you find yourself refreshed and renewed each day in God's presence?

If you are running the frantic race, my suggestion is to start each day here, in your quiet place, and be still. If you'll listen to His voice He'll speak to your heart through His Word. Let Him probe your conscience and bring things to mind that need to be changed.
He'll encourage you to dig deeper and stay the course.
And you'll see how much easier and better each day becomes.

"There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper." 1 Kings 19:9-12

Listen to or watch the 11 part series, "The Elijah Element" at
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