For the Christ Follower the coolest thing, and
the thing most desired, is to hear His voice. When you look through Scripture
you see God is not a screamer. Often times He comes to his people in the stillness
and quietness of life. This goes hand in hand with Mark Batterson’s study
called, “Whisper,” of which my church is doing on Wednesday nights. In a recent
session I attended, the focus was on being “still” and “silent” and to listen
for Holy Spirit. I think we all can agree being still and silent is not part of
our daily routine. The hustle and bustle of life, and the noise associated with
it makes us deaf and unable to hear His voice.
To be honest, I have not been “still” and “silent”
for a long time and have been experiencing a dryness in my Christian walk. I’m
certain I was called to establish the non-profit 3Strand Inc. and help people become the best version of themselves.
However, the busyness of life, the added tasks of growing a dream, and trying
to keep all the saucers spinning have left me feeling overwhelmed. In the book,
Put Your Dreams to the Test, John
Maxwell teaches when you are living someone else’s dream you have no trouble
sleeping, but when you take ownership of your dream sleep doesn’t come so easy.
He also teaches when you own your dream your passion is the fuel needed to continue
the journey. I am passionate about helping others but have wondered if my “why”
is big enough to help be find my way. This morning I heard His voice.
Being still and silent must mean something
different to Holy Spirt because he came to me at a time you probably wouldn’t
talk about in church. During my routine visit to the “library” this morning I
was scrolling through the emails on my phone. Stop right there! In this day of
modern technology, you probably do the same thing. Anyway, one of the emails
was a daily devotional from Dr. David Jeremiah. I usually delete the weekend
version because is a little longer than usual. This morning I decided to open
it and read the story of Karl Friedrich Gutzlaff (Karl for short). Karl was the
first Lutheran missionary to China and died in 1851 at the age of 48. Not seeing
much fruit from his labor, he felt his life was a failure and died in
disappointment. However, his writings later impacted J. H. Taylor who would
open China up to the Gospel, as well as Dr. David Livingston who took the
Gospel to the interior of Africa. A warmness filled my soul and tears started
to leak out of my eyes as I learned God is not the source of discouragement. My
task is to keep moving forward and splash “around in the work God has given me”
so that those ripples will reach those He intends reach through me.
Just
to show off, Holy Spirit drove home another point. With my “library” time
complete, I scrolled through the memory feed on my Facebook page. This time two
years ago I was reading Chase the Lion,
by Mark Batterson. It is a tremendous and inspiring book that deals with
chasing your dreams and doing the difficult things needed to accomplish them.
The passage dealing with legacy compliments what I learned in Jeremiah’s
devotional. I might never see a life changed, but I must believe I can inspire
others. It may be those others who affect change. The other portion of the book
I saved talks about God’s timing and opportunity. When I answered His call in
2012, I was not looking for a scheduled appointment. His call, my dream,
“found” me and 3Strand was born.
We all know things can come in three’s and this
morning Holy Spirit was right on que. I closed my Facebook feed feeling pretty
confident I received a word from the Lord. I opened my Instagram page and this
picture was at the top. My friend, Mike Wehde, is a pastor, church plant
strategist, and all-around great guy. He has had seasons in his life where
direction has been a challenge. One thing he holds true, keep your focus on the
Lord and continue moving forward. I believe that to be true as well. Science
tells us when something is in motion it will stay in motion unless there is applied
force to stop the motion. God and I alone are the only ones have the power to kill
my dream.
So, what did I hear Holy Spirit say to me this
morning? What was He trying to show me? Here’s what I know. Disappointment is
that place between expectation and reality. To eliminate disappointment, I can
either alter expectations or change my reality. Altering my expectations is not
an option so the focus needs to be on changing reality. In order to change my
reality, Holy Spirit showed me three things:
1. Keep my focus on the Lord and to trust Him by just
putting one foot in front of the other. Stay in motion and avoid the distractions.
2. My timing and His timing are not the same and I
need to be prepared to seize opportunities when they arise.
3. I don’t get to see the big picture. I may never
realize what the Lord is doing in someone else’s life through me. Do not be
disappointed!
It is my hope that what
I experienced this morning encourages you to keep going, motivates you to chase
your dream, or just brings you comfort as walk journey through life. May God
richly bless you and thank you for taking the time to read my work.
