Wednesday, February 25, 2009

NaTuRaL DiSaStErS? No. WhIsPeRs? YeS.

I really hate when people write letters like I did in the title...for instance there's a person I know who does it non-stop with their facebook status and it drives me insane. What's the appeal? No one can read it. Just thought I would try it out though...takes awhile to really write anything like that too. Just silly.

Well again I was at Rockbridge this past weekend with the wonderful Commonwealth Region, and it really was a fantastic time. One of the things that I started to realize after I got back from summer staff at Lake Champion, then forgot during the fall, then have started to realize again...is the powerful God that we serve. On multiple occasions in talking with friends and teammates and even leading Campaigners I have gotten feisty for Jesus and really spoken passionately and from the heart, an ever growing heart of gratitude for the Lord and what He has done. And when I mean passionately, I mean like this guy; because that's MY King too.

On Friday night Scott Hamilton opened up with challenging us all with the question of: How well do you know Him? He then asked us during the meat of the talk what it would take for us to carve out the time necessary to get to know Him. To be honest, looking back at my notes, I feel like the talk was disjointed but I know 100% that it wasn't at all and that I really just didn't do my usual thorough job of taking copious and all-encompassing notes. The one thing I want to focus on though, was then the opening question paired with the closing question: What's He telling me to do, what's He asking of me?

In order to know what Christ is telling me and what He's asking of me, I have to know Him. If we are His sheep we know His voice and listen to it. The way we do that is by spending time with Him for sure; reading His Word, praying, worshiping, serving others. Those are all ridiculous important and crucial in order to get to know God and what He wants in and for our lives. However, we must also LISTEN to what He is saying to us. This scripture has continually been brought up by the Holy Spirit in my pursuit of God's will for my life...

The Lord said (to Elijah), "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and he went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here Elijah?"

So the thing about all that, is that I have been consistently trying to keep myself close enough and then quiet enough to the Lord in order to be able to hear the whisper of how and where He is moving. Sure there will inevitably be a couple wind, earthquake, and fire moments in my life and yours as well of following Christ...but I guarantee that if we don't all learn to listen and lean in to the whisper, we will miss His leadings. I don't want to miss that, so I better learn to shut the crap up and not become enamored with the flashy, the eye-catching, the trendy, or the popular; but rather become enamored with making myself humble like Christ

And sorry I didn't work in my answer posed to my earlier question, but since it's basically the same day that I'm posting I count that as a mulligan, and also since this blog belongs to me I get to mulligan all I want. Hah.

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