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Whispers From Heaven

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Nancy Bauer, Washington

 

 

 

“DISTRACTION VS INTAMACY”

  

    May was a busy month for me. I knew that God given me the hunger to write for Him, and with that in mind I took an online class on writing.  Ah, but those things we try to do good for God, can also be used by the evil one.

  

  Taking this online class created a busyness that I didn’t expect. One assignment would take up half my day. Before I started the class, my hunger for the Bible was huge. By the end of the class I had gotten out of the habit of reading the Bible and the drive seemed to have left. All I was left with was confusion. I couldn’t seem to concentrate and was distracted by everything.

  

One day, right in the middle of an assignment, I heard a small voice say: “Will you take time for Me?”  My heart broke, and as soon as I stood to worship, the Holy Spirit had me down on my knees in tears.

   Jesus called me to worship Him in a still, small voice. And I was smart enough to listen and answer His call. And when I did, I felt His heart and His love for me.

 

 Psa 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

 

   This brings to mind the story of Elijah in the cave.

   Elijah had been on a constant run, trying to escape from Queen Jezebel’s threats of killing him. He was exhausted…distracted from seeking God. Elijah started to give up.

 

   Then... "Go out and stand before me on top of the mountain," the LORD said to him. Then the LORD passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks---but the LORD was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then 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 there was the soft whisper of a voice.

 

   Elijah heard God in a “soft whisper of a voice.”

 

   The word, “small voice or small whisper” comes from the Hebrew words, “crushed with the foot, tread down”. God had to crush His voice with His foot in order to speak to Elijah. He had to “lower” Himself so that Elijah could hear Him. NOT in the wind, an earthquake or a fire, but in a ‘small whisper’ God make His voice heard. God didn’t make His voice pushy or showy…but He spoke in a sweet, gentle whisper.

 

   God doesn’t force us to do His will. He wants us to WANT to do His will. And in the stillness of LISTENING we can hear Him……

(Psalms 62:2) Only for God doth my soul wait in stillness; from Him cometh my salvation.

 

  When I got down on my knees that day, I knew Jesus had been waiting for me. He had lowered His voice to see if I was listening; to see if I would hear Him.  He had missed our time together. He was revealing to me that I had submitted to the enemy. I had given in to the distraction of my time. In His small voice He put me under gentle conviction. I had taken what had belonged to Jesus and given it to the enemy….OUR TIME TOGETHER….OUR INTIMACY! And I am SO glad that I heard Him. I am SO blessed to have such a compassionate Savior.

 

Isa 30:18  Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.

 

  I want to give you all a ‘heads-up’. Satan is trying to divert us from intimacy with God. And Satan knows all the tricks.

 

  There is so much on this earth to “entertain” us.  This “entertainment” is all a disguise, a distraction to keep our thoughts busy and not on God and to keep us from His intimacy.

 

  Thanks to Jesus’ gentle reminder, I have now gotten myself back into daily worship, prayer and Bible reading. It wasn’t easy, but I NEED God to organize my day out of the confusion of today.  Giving God each day has set my day according to His wants, according to His will.

 

  Each day is now fulfilling and ordered. Each day is full of achievement and blessing. Each day I am full of God’s joy.

  And so I say:

 

   “The ‘jigs’ up, Satan. I’ve got your number. And it’s spelled this way….N-O—D-I-S-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N-S. And understand this……GOD CONROLS MY DAY! So YOU, the Distracter, are left powerless today in my life! By the authority and name of Jesus Christ!”

AMEN!