We live in a frightening world. Most scary are those times that God feels distant and irrelevant. Seasons of spiritual darkness are common even when many pretend they’re an abnormality. We’re often discouraged and frightened by a widening gap between our desired self and our real self. We feel a pull between the reality of our daily schedule and all the blessings of being connected to God.
It feels like the solution to getting out of being “spiritually stuck” should be simple. Bible-reading, prayer, worship, a good devotional book, and church attendance should do it. Those things either don’t feel effective or strangely evade us. Intentions are things that we easily lose. They are good, but they can be hard to grasp on at times.
Realize that you are created for an intimate relationship with God. Sometimes you may find that you get distracted, or caught up with other important duties. There are those times when you may be absolutely desperate to hear God’s voice in your life. Does Chris McClarney’s song “I’m Listening” describe exactly what you want (and need most) in your life right now?
Verse 1
When You speak, confusion fades
Just a word and suddenly I'm not afraid
'Cause You speak and freedom reigns
There is hope in every single word You say
Chorus 1
Just a word and suddenly I'm not afraid
'Cause You speak and freedom reigns
There is hope in every single word You say
Chorus 1
I don't wanna miss one word You
speak
'Cause everything You say is life to me
I don't wanna miss one word You speak
Quiet my heart, I'm listening
Verse 2
'Cause everything You say is life to me
I don't wanna miss one word You speak
Quiet my heart, I'm listening
Verse 2
When sorrows roar and troubles rage
You whisper peace when I don't have the words to say
I won't lose hope when storms won't break
You keep Your word, oh and Your promises will keep me safe
Chorus 2
You whisper peace when I don't have the words to say
I won't lose hope when storms won't break
You keep Your word, oh and Your promises will keep me safe
Chorus 2
I don't wanna miss one word You
speak
'Cause everything You say is life to me
I don't wanna miss one word You speak
So quiet my heart, I'm listening
Instrumental
Bridge
'Cause everything You say is life to me
I don't wanna miss one word You speak
So quiet my heart, I'm listening
Instrumental
Bridge
Your ways are higher
You know just what I need
I trust You, Jesus
You see what I cannot see
Chorus 3
You know just what I need
I trust You, Jesus
You see what I cannot see
Chorus 3
I don't wanna miss one word You speak
'Cause everything You say is life to me
I don't wanna miss one word You speak
So quiet my heart, I'm listening
I don't wanna miss one word You speak
'Cause everything You say is life to me
I don't wanna miss one word You speak
So quiet my heart, I'm listening
Outro
I don't wanna miss one word You
speak
'Cause everything You say is life to me
I don't wanna miss one word You speak
So quiet my heart, I'm listening
'Cause everything You say is life to me
I don't wanna miss one word You speak
So quiet my heart, I'm listening
God speaks to you through circumstances-If you’re going to
live a life of significance, God has to make constant course corrections, and
one way he does that is through the circumstances that come into your
life. When you start to listen to God through circumstances, impressions,
teachers, or the Bible, sometimes he’s going to lead you in ways that you don’t
understand.
God speaks to you through impressions-There are two
extremes to this. One extreme is the rationalist who believes no impression can
be from God; it all has to be logical. At the other extreme is the mystical
belief that every impression is from God. You need to get in the middle and
realize that for an impression to be from God, it has to match God’s Word.
God speaks to you through teachers-Have you ever been in
a church service and felt like the teacher was delivering a direct message from
God to you? There’s no way I or any other teacher could figure out exactly what
to say to meet every need. God knows. Before every service I pray, “God, you
know the people and the needs out there. Give the pastor the right things to
say.” Somehow, in the way only He can, God uses the teaching and the teaching
of other pastors to meet the needs of people who are listening.
God speaks to you through the Bible-It’s your guidebook
for life. It shows you the right step to take. That is why you need to read
God’s Word every day. If you’re not having a daily quiet time and reading the Bible, God is getting a busy signal when
he wants to speak to you. You have to keep a constant connection because God’s
will is found in God’s Word.
“Many spirit-filled authors
have exhausted the thesaurus in order to describe God with the glory He
deserves. His perfect holiness, by definition, assures us that our words can’t
contain Him. Isn’t it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate?”(Francis Chan)[i]
[i] Sources used:
· “Desperate for God” by Bible in One Year
“A Place to Start for Spiritually Stuck People” by Paul Maxwell
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