Weekly Devotional: Speak Less, Listen More, Fight Through...

"He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding has a cool spirit." Proverbs 17:27"

While reading the bible i would come across stories in which The Lord spoke to this person or that person, giving direction, comfort or reassurance etc. As i continue my journey as believer i come across fellow believers who have explained or discussed what God has laid on their heart. Whether it was a word specifically for them or for someone else and i would wonder why is it that God hasn't spoken to me? Why is it that he hasn't told me where to go, or what to do or how to do it? It was not until recently i realized that God has been speaking to me. He has been laying things on my heart, i just wasn't always listening. I didn't always know or realize it was God. It is still something i struggle with and continue to pray about.

God speaks to us in different ways all in which we must pay attention to. Part of what helped me begin to hear his voice was really getting an understanding of who God is and how he operates. As with any topic we can learn more about God by reading up on God. The more we can read and actually attempt to grasp what is going on in the bible the better we can understand God.

After we gain an understanding of God, we will have a better idea of what to expect, what to listen for. Listen is defined as giving attention with the intention of hearing; wait attentively for a sound. It is pretty hard to give our attention to God if we are distracted by all that's going on around us. And you can't really be attentively waiting for a sound if you're busy talking. So when trying to hear from God it is a good idea to be somewhere quiet where you wont be distracted by other things and be silent. I recently read something by Joyce Meyers where she explained that her daughter had prayed to God asking if there was anything that he wanted to say to her before she began her day and just waited in silence. As she waited she felt in her heart that God said "Go, i am with you". Comforting words that would prove to be necessary in the next few days as unexpected bad news had arisen.

God also speaks to us through others and or circumstances. Just the other day I had someone come up to me and tell me the Lord had showed them something. We sat and spoke for a bit (well he spoke i listened) and i will be taking action on what was discussed. ^"22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" James 1:22. It may not always be a word that God uses. Sometimes the only way God can teach us something is to allow circumstances in our life to lead us to and THROUGH the very thing we need to discover.  Joyce Meyer had said "There's no such thing as a drive-through break-through."

When we recieve a word from God whether it be from him directly, someone else, or circumstance, obtaining the word is not the end. With the knowledge we must now act on it and go forth. The road ahead may not always be easy, it may not always seem doable but God WILL see you through it. As our Bishop preached on Sunday in service, continue to fight the good fight. There may be stumbling blocks, and road blocks and speed bumps along the way but do not quit and do not give up. 

Hebrew 12:1-13 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, 

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”^[a]

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. ¹² Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ¹³ “Make level paths for your feet,”^[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."