Friday, September 05, 2008
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The Still, Small Voice
by miss poppy
Elijah Fed by the Raven, Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo
I guess I expected God to be bombastic. Anybody that big must be really loud, right? Not to mention that the voice of God in movies and plays is often quite thunderous.
That's why Elijah's story in 1 Kings 19 is so amazing to me. Elijah, the depressive prophet, has fled for his life after Queen Jezebel promises to kill him. He asks God to take his life, but instead God sends an angel to give Elijah food and drink and send him on his way. Elijah ends up coming to a cave. While he's living there, God comes and asks him what he's doing there.
Then, Elijah goes out and stands on a mountain before God to watch God pass by. There's a wind, an earthquake, and a fire. But God isn't in any of those. Finally, there's "a still, small voice," and Elijah covers his face with his mantle because he knows that God has come.
I love to be in church services when a holy hush comes into the room. Often it's after people have wept and prayed and many have been filled with the Holy Spirit. A deep, awe-inspiring calm will settle over the whole room, a kiss of peace from the Prince of Peace. It's quiet, but heavy, like a velvet drapery. Sometimes people cannot stand in it. But He is so comforting, so gentle.
I am delighted again and again by God's gentle touch in my heart. And yet He loses none of His power. His tenderness is overwhelming. I am a timid person, prone to fear and anxiety. But God's quiet touch brings me into the absolute stillness and peace and rest at the core of His being. I was made for this place. His hands are not big and rough and clumsy; His touch is infinitely gentle and soothing. He doesn't thunder out in anger at me; He speaks quietly and insistently and with comfort.
I find great pleasure in being with God, pleasure that fills me with wonder and a profound sense of reverence for the One who allows me to enjoy Him so freely. Perhaps I love Him so much partly because rest and peace are so alien to me. I cannot find them on my own. I did not know I could ever have them. But I have come to know that the same God who spoke life into existence has a tender touch and a quiet voice. He bends down to me, His harried child, and He pulls me in close to His heart, to that infinitely restful place of comfort in His embrace.
I could never deserve to be there, but His grace is more vast than the night sky.
How does God communicate with you? Are you ever surprised by His method?
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Comments (28)
His voice is always gentle, His touch on my life is like a glass shattered, the pieces are not like each other, some are tiny.... some shine back , because they have more size. He speaks my own language, because he made me, and I am his. He knows what will speak His love to me, and He knows how to nudge me, encourage me. Might be through affirmation as I read, and the still small voice not in my head, but rather, in my chest, my heart, speaks. And it's through the song of a chickadee in moments when my Lord knows my aloneness and need...... it was through the design on our server's tie on my daughters birthday this past December.... as my mother heart missed our son who is in glory these past years...his very close relationship with her being for now physically severed by an accident. Only God would have known that a Scooby Doo tie, would speak His love for me. Son's college frisbee team was the Scoober Doos....... see??? how intimately God knows all, ALL the details and speaks gently into life. Wow, He's more than amazing.
And today, reading this, speaks sweetly again to me. thanks for surrendering the words to the keyboard and the page.
I enjoy that beautiful narratives of Elijah's encounter with God as well. I never heard of the term "holy hush" but I guess that's what it is. It has been a while since I experience that sort of divine encounter in a group setting, but I can testify that it is so sweet to meet God in the quiet moments of life.
Your article and choice of words are so well put. It makes my heart want to glorify our God. Thank you for your post!
I definitely agree and I know exactly what you are talking about.
That is how I came to become a Christian myself. Witnessing the affect God has on people and how strong yet at peace it made them. I almost dropped to my knees.
For those touched by Him, the blessing is very apparent,
WITH GOD ON YOUR SIDE, WHO CAN DEFEAT YOU?
Ony free will, that He gave to us all; can defeat those He
chooses. So have some pride, believe not only in each
of our hope, but BELIEVE IN GOD's PROMISES!
Wish Jesus was on a ticket than the current dreamers...
www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=DAVERAVEdotNET
@josketh148@xanga - Marvelous testimony! I don't believe I've ever heard anyone else say they came to God for that exact reason. It's amazing to hear about the different ways He draws people to Him. Praise God!
God communicates almost entirely through his words found in the bible.
@musterion99@xanga - I am extremely grateful for God's Word! It's wonderful that He chose to provide it for us. I'm also grateful for His daily presence with me that He allows me to experience and enjoy.
@misspoppy - Amen. I've just seen many Christians that are led astray by their so-called experiences that they've had with God and what God supposedly spoke to them. I'm not doubting that yours are genuine. I also seek God daily in my prayers and worship of him.
always always amazed by His glory and His answers to my prayers =D
He always amazes and surprises me. Sometimes it's through those quiet times, but I think He also sometimes have to shout at us.
When it's a God thing, we know it--whether it's a Scooby Doo tie, a rainbow at just the right moment, or the words of a particular scripture or song that speaks to us personally. Elijah is like all of us, strong one minute, ready to give up and die the next; however, God meets him where he is and restores him. What a promise!
I love Elijah. His story is so neat. I used to think of him as this high and mighty man of God...which he was...but I kind of had him on a super-human pedestal. And then I read this passage that after he did the amazing miracle with the prophets of baal, he ran in terror for his life. And he was so whiny, "I'm the only one left...there's no one else in all of Israel who loves God." And God put him in his place. I thought that was cool, and then I heard a sermon on prayer. And the pastor (I think it was Francis Chan...but I might be mistaken) pointed out a verse in James. Verse 15 Chapter 5 says, "Elijah was a man just like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth." I think that's amazing. It just puts into perspective that all the people in the Bible, they were ALL people, just like us, capable of the same failures and the same wonders through Christ. I love that blessing from God. The Bible isn't a bunch of super-amazing people doing things that are normal for them. They are normal people who He uses to do super-amazing things. :)
I love this part of the Bible, the still small voice. I very often forget that everything is spiritual. God is everywhere, in everything.
Personally, I've always had a difficult time understanding or 'hearing' God's voice. Not that I don't hear it, but sometimes what I think is God is not.
And I have always had great difficulty getting clear signals and direction in my life from Him as well. Sometimes I wonder now what is my own thoughts, other people's thoughts and will for me.
And then I wonder whether I am actually hearing God's voice, or an angel's...(good or bad) or even that of the collective consciousness'.
@Koolou@xanga - I also struggle with hearing specific direction, but I know some things for sure.
God speaks through His Word, the Bible, and nothing He ever says to me will contradict that.
He never brings fear or anxiety. If I am feeling those things, they are never from Him.
He is never abusive. He won't misuse me the way other people sometimes have and do.
He always loves me and wants to show His love to me. Most of my interactions with Him are not times that I hear specific words; they're times that I experience His arms around me and His tenderness as He holds me close to His heart.
If I'm having trouble knowing what God wants me to do, I pray for Him to prevent me from going the wrong way. He can close doors I'm not supposed to walk through.
Jesus is the way to God. I don't know where you are personally with this, but I know that without Jesus' life in us, we have no access to God whatsoever. If we don't have Jesus, God is not leading us; Satan is.
I don't worry much about angels. The purpose of my relationship with God is to get closer to Him, not angels. They're His workers, and I know they're on my side, but I'm not meant to concentrate on them; I'm meant to concentrate on God.
the story where God feefs Elijah by way of ravens is my favorite! God rocks. God bless. He always finds a way to provide even in the midst of a drought.
@misspoppy - I was not suggesting we should listen to (or even necessarily communicate with) angels. What I was saying is that I know that we are surrounded by them...good and bad. And while we are not to focus on or worship them, I suspect it is these beings who are often (perhaps solely) responsible for interacting in our lives directly. Not necessarily God Himself.
So what I wonder is, is it really God's voice we hear, or is it that of angels, again, good or bad; or the collective consciousness?
@Koolou@xanga - I respectfully disagree. I believe the Bible, which tells us numerous times that God Himself interacts with us personally. Jesus' life is intended to be the perfect model for ours. He interacted directly with God. The Bible tells us God protects us, hears us, loves us, comforts us directly. When Jesus ascended, the Holy Spirit (God) came to touch us directly. I interact with God directly on a daily basis, and I feel His comfort and love. I believe every person can have that direct personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.
@misspoppy - "I believe every person can have that direct personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ."
I believe that as well. And that we can be filled (or sealed) with the Holy Spirit.
However, since being saved in 1996, even though I felt filled with God's Spirit, love and power, I was still not able to 'hear' God's voice clearly, or to get clear direction in my life, which prompted me to wonder whether that is the Holy Spirit's job.
Also, since then I have had people and spirits literally seem to drain me of the love and energy of the Holy Spirit inside me.
In addition, since being born again I still had times where I felt filled with God's Spirit, and times when it felt as though He had completely left me.
Something else to think about. In Romans 2:14 & 15, it says:
"(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)"
So if that is true, how can non-believers be saved if they do not have the Holy Spirit of God? I am not trying to be argumentative here, I am just trying to understand the truth of the matter here, and I also believe it is relevant to this discussion.
And also, in 1 John 4:7 & 8 it says:
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
I am just trying to ascertain if and how the Holy Spirit (or perhaps God's angels) actually interacts with us in our lives, how we can 'hear' His voice and leading, and how we can discern the difference between this voice, and that of the evil angels of the collective consciousness (or psychic people.)
@Koolou@xanga - I believe the collective consciousness, evil angels, etc. are demons.
Here is how you can know if something is God:
He will never bring fear (1 John 4:18)
He will always tell the truth because He is the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13)
He will teach us about Jesus (John 15:26)
We don't always hear God in words; sometimes he speaks through other things. The best way to discern His voice is to know the Bible. Nothing He says or does will ever contradict the Bible.
As far as the question of non-believers having the Holy Spirit, He is not in them, but He does draw them to God: (1 Corinthians 1:9)
The love that John is talking about is not just any love; it's real love that comes from God and acknowledges Jesus as Lord.
1 John 4:2-3
"By this you may know (perceive and recognize) the Spirit of God:every spirit which acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [actually] has become man and has come in the flesh is of God [has God for its source];
And every spirit which does not acknowledge and confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh [but would annul, destroy, sever, disunite Him] is not of God [does not proceed from Him]. This [nonconfession] is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you heard that it was coming, and now it is already in the world." (Amplified)
Our feelings are the indicator of what we believe, not of what is actually true. I seek to know God, and I know that when we approach Him through Jesus, He will answer and give us more of Himself if we really want Him. We have to be totally rooted in biblical truth. I believe the best way to learn to discern God's voice if we are have trouble is to inundate ourselves with the Bible. I also have trouble hearing God sometimes, but I know tat His Word is always right and that He speaks through it and that anything I hear from Him. will never, ever contradict it.
"I believe the collective consciousness... are demons."
Yes, and no. I believe you may be correct that this is the work of evil one. But I have experienced this even in many churches, and with many Christians. I believe Collective Consciousness today is the sub-consciousness of humanity united together and used, manipulated and even controlled by evil angels and evil people.
As for feeling, I am not talking about emotions. I am talking about what is spoken of in Romans 8:16 where it says: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." -Those kinds of feelings and awareness.
I believe that life, Christianity, and even an individual person's mind/body/soul and spirit, are much more complex than most people believe or are aware; this is especially true for Christians. In many ways, those of the World seem to know a lot more about how things work than we do. This is also true for the ways of God and of the Devil, particularly in this time of the last days. I believe that the tactics and plans of the enemy are occurring at an unprecedented degree and level of complexity.
I think the ways God works in our lives are much more ordered, complicated and strange than most of us realize. I believe since God is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He frequently uses His angels in the order of authority He has established in His dealings with humanity here on Earth. After all, Jesus entrusted believers with the authority of God and of the Kingdom of heaven itself (Matthew 16:18, Matthew 18:18 & 19.)
I think many things spoken of in the Bible are often misunderstood, such as that verse I mentioned earlier in Romans 2:14 & 15. How can non-believers be saved if they are not born again? I wonder if perhaps the answer is that the Holy Spirit and our relationship with God is not what we think it is.
Many places the Bible refers to the possibility of God's Spirit being taken away from people. Even in Matthew 13:12; 21:43, 25:29, Mark 4:25, Luke 8:18, and 19:26 it says that what we have can be taken away from us and given to others, (or taken by others.)
I would just like to actually be able to discern and 'hear' God's voice, know I can trust Him in His workings in my life (people and angels are not infallible omnipotent or omniscient), and know where I stand with Him. Perhaps it is just that He hasn't chosen me. Its really starting to seem that way.
@misspoppy - So do you then beleive that psychics are evil? And what about 'Christian psychics?'
Here's another mysterious one: "Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure." - 1 Timothy 5:22. Here Paul seems to be saying quite clearly that if we touch a person suddenly we can literally partake of their sins, and be affected by them ourselves.
To be clear, I am not doubting this verse. However, this sounds exactly like new age everything we as Christians believe about spirituality to God on its head.
@Koolou@xanga - I do believe psychic experiences are satanic and that Christian psychic is an oxymoron.
When the Bible says laying on of hands, it doesn't mean just touching. In the Bible, laying on of hands signified approval, commissioning for ministry, and agreeing in prayer. What that verse means is not to be united with people who are evil.
New Age simply isn't from God; it is from Satan. God wants to communicate directly with you. He does it in many ways. Please don't let your doubts about His voice lead you into things that are not from Him.
@misspoppy - If you believe all psychic power is evil or that they are under demonic influence; what would you say if I told you that I believe the majority of Americans are actively psychic to varying degrees; including vast numbers in the Church?
Once I even asked a pastor of a moderately sized church in Oregon whether he thought psychic power was evil or not, and to my surprise he said "I think it would depend on the person, and whether they use their abilities for the Kingdom of God or not"
Since then, I have asked several other pastors and respected Christians the same question and got similar answers.
Personally, I believe that these people are a part of what the World calls the Collective Consciousness. Many of these people are not only able to sense (and send) thoughts and emotions, but can possibly even see emotions and energy as colors.
Try looking up the Collective Consciousness. Look up Indigos. Since the 60's when Americans began using hallucinogenic and mind-expanding drugs en masse. This simultaneously opened up their psychic awareness and potential and also created a open doorway for (evil) angelic influence. And such drug use and abuse has only been growing. Not to mention frequently passing on these same gifts and bondages to their children and grandchildren.
@Koolou@xanga - I studied the collective consciousness (probably not as much as you have), and you and I have a disagreement. That's fine, but I know what I believe, and I believe it's very real and totally demonic.
Now, I believe God gives people gifts of discernment (knowing what is spiritually right and wrong in a situation) and tells them things they would not normally know at times, but I don't believe that's the same thing as the collective consciousness in any sense.
I have God and His power. I don't see a need and have no desire for anything besides that. I don't believe there can be anything else that is not Satanic.