Conversations with God.....I Trust You!!

Yesterday my friend and I had a great discussion about hearing God. She said she "gets" my conversations with God, but she has never experienced that herself. "How do you hear God, is it like a conversation in your head, do you speak out loud?" I hear God in many different ways. The Bible calls it a "still small voice". Yes, it is like a conversation in my head, sounds strange, but the Holy Spirit is inside of me, He has complete access to all of me including my thoughts. Yes, I do sometimes talk out loud to him, when I am alone, it is still a conversation type discussion. She asked me if I just sit and wait, because she says, I don't have time to just sit and wait. I explained that he speaks when my spirit is quiet, not necessarily my body. Most of my conversations happen when I am running, my body is working hard, so it freeze up my mind to be still and listen. I feel a great privilege that God chooses to talk to me in this way. I am learning more and more how to listen and check to make sure it is really God speaking because the Devil likes to impute a lot of lies in our thoughts. He has a way of making people think that what they are doing is right, when it isn't. I use the Bible, prayer and some very Godly counsel to discern the difference. But God does speak to me in different ways. Have you ever read a passage in the Bible that takes your breath away because it feels as if it was written for just you? Has there ever been a song that you hear or sing that chokes you up because it pierces your heart? Have you ever sat listening to a message and you are sure that the pastor had access to all of your thoughts for the week? Here is another one... Reading a devotional that is exactly what you needed to read for that morning. I had that this morning, so I want to share it with all of you because maybe, just maybe, God will use it to speak to you...

Whatever It Takes

Marybeth Whalen

"For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance."

Psalm 66:10-12 (NIV)

Devotion:

This school year, my husband and I made some big changes in our house. We took the kids' computer out of the bonus room and gave them use of our two laptop computers in our presence only. We took the extra TV out of the bonus room. We got rid of all the extra channels on our satellite service, leaving the basic few. And we began requiring that our two children who have cell phones turn them in for the night at 8pm.

Why did we implement these seemingly harsh decisions? Because last school year our children made some bad choices... and their grades reflected it. They chose to watch TV in the bonus room instead of going to bed at a decent hour. They chose to play on the computer when they were supposed to be working on assignments. They chose to text their friends instead of focus on their schoolwork.

After repeated lectures and warnings, they still made the same mistakes. This pattern of behavior left us no choice but to come in and remove the things that were a stumbling block. The kids didn't like our decision and to them it seemed unfair. But we stood firm. We knew that we were doing the right thing for our children. We could see a future they could not, and we had to protect that future for them--even if they didn't understand our method for doing so. As their parents, we have to do whatever it takes.

Sometimes God has to do the same for us. At the time His plan may seem harsh and unnecessary. We may not realize that He can see a future we cannot. We are His children, and He will remove all stumbling blocks that keep us from being all that we can be. Even if it hurts. Even when we cry and beg Him not to. Even when we pout and tell Him it's not fair.

It's because I love you, He tells us, that I do this. I am creating something beautiful in you if you will just stop fighting me. I have a place I am trying to get you to. You can't see it, my precious child, but I can.

Is there something God is doing in your life that feels unjust? That has you pouting or crying or wondering why? Maybe you identify with the verses from today. You feel imprisoned, burdened, trampled, burned. Do you trust Him to bring you out of the place where you are to a place of abundance? The most beautiful prayer we can pray is: I trust You, I trust You, I trust You. He is a loving Father who only wants the best for us and He will do whatever it takes to get us there. Instead of fighting Him, let's rest in that Truth.

Dear Lord, I trust You. I trust You. I trust You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Blessings!!