A few years ago, when a well-known speaker spoke at my church, he spoke on this very subject and it got me thinking about how these three areas are integral to a fulfilled and healthy Christian life. I believe that in most recipes there are basic ingredients that you need to use to have some chance of a successful outcome. Unfortunately it wasn’t always the case in my household! Therefore I’m suggesting that the inward, upward and outward journey are those ingredients. Yes, other ingredients are added but without the basics we will never become the person we are meant to be.
The ultimate aim is to become more like Jesus in every area of our lives. To walk, talk, think and act like Him! Let’s take Moses; here was a Prince of Egypt, he had servants, all the good things that life could provide; yet he became content to live in the backside of the desert. He was fearful, disillusioned, had no money, no prospects, even his personality and appearance were affected. Yet God sustained him in a foreign land.
Have you ever been like that Christian, who is fearful, disappointed, and disillusioned, going to church week after week but no longer enjoying the presence of God. I know I have been in that place. How many times have you gone to church and felt a total stranger, yet God sustained you. God hadn’t left Moses; it was just that Moses wasn’t aware of His presence. Moses knew of God but yet hadn’t experienced Him personally.
Circumstances, people, our own choices and situations in life can, if we aren’t careful, rob us of our peace, joy and relationship with the Lord. Moses thought that the Israelites would have recognised him as their God appointed deliverer, but he jumped the gun and it ended in murder and Moses having to flee Egypt. What should have been a marvellous adventure ended in tears!
Moses ran away and spent 40yrs in the backside of the desert (he was nowhere!). I believe that there are times when the Lord allows us our pity party and lets us do our own thing in the hope that like the prodigal son we will come to our senses and run to Him rather than from Him! However, I do believe that the Lord continues to work in the background on our behalf despite our poor choices.
There was a time in 2014 where due to a particular situation I had lost sight of my purpose, my vision, my dream and my hope. I was in a position of being locked into such emotional pain that I had lost sight of the Lord. It was like having a wound that needed cleaning but every time I tried to have it cleaned the pain became more intense, so I recoiled. Sometimes we just become dry! It creeps up on us over a period of time.
Moses spent the next 40yrs of his life in that desert place, until one day going about his normal business he saw a burning bush in the distance. It caught his attention, and he had the choice to continue on or turn aside to investigate it. Moses said to himself, “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”
It was only when Moses turned aside to look closer at the bush that God called his name. God waits to see our response! For me my burning bush was feeling His presence when I sat on my couch feeling lost and alone; I felt His arm around me giving me comfort and strength! No words were exchanged initially, but as I welcomed His presence as we sat on the couch each day, I began to pour out my heart to Him and allowed Him to begin the healing and re-firing process. All I was seeing and feeling at that time was failure and not only disappointment in myself but feeling that I had disappointed Him also.
When God spoke to Moses and commissioned him, Moses began to argue with Him. Moses spoke out of the person he’d become in those 40 long years in the wilderness. He made excuses, he needed reassurance, he was negative but the more that he fellowshipped with God his faith grew and he fulfilled his purpose! Are you talking to the Lord out of that wilderness place in your heart? Something didn’t happen the way you thought. You got hurt, offended, someone died, you didn’t get the job or the recognition? It’s interesting to note that for Moses the next 40 years were spent in developing intimacy with God! By the end of his life there was no trace of the Egyptian or the stranger in a foreign land. The Lord spoke face to face with Moses and called him friend. Moses’ biggest battles were with self-doubt and complaining people who were stuck in a slave mentality. That one burning bush encounter re-ignited Moses to believe God more than his own experiences and because of his continued intimacy with God Moses was able to inspire and lead others. The last 40 years of his life far overshadowed his beginnings. It’s not over till God says it’s over, whatever your age!
Turn aside and listen
Being still and waiting may require practice for some. It can be hard to silence our thoughts. It’s always good to have a pen and paper to hand so that you can write down whatever you get from the Lord. There have been a number of times that I have had a thought or revelation in the middle of the night and didn’t write it down only to discover that I had forgotten it in the morning!
Some people actually hear a voice, but that is often rare - most sense or feel. The important thing to remember is that your relationship with the Godhead is unique, it’s a two-way communication. They speak your language and know how to communicate with you. When I first began to sit in God’s presence and waited for Him to speak to me, I found that I would write short sentences or one or two words that I felt he was saying to me. This is often called journaling where you ask him a question, eg “What do you like about me?” and write down in your journal what you believe He is saying to you. I remember talking to a friend about it and they were also spending time with him and practising hearing His voice and when they showed me their writings I was amazed as they had reams of writing in comparison to mine. I felt a little deflated so the next time I was being still I asked the question, “How come I have written so little and she has written a book?” His reply made me smile as He said (more of an impression than an actual voice),“You were a teacher. When you made comments in a pupil’s book you wrote simple phrases. When you text, you often do the same. So I’m talking to you in the way you communicate.’ It made perfect sense because I don’t like long sentences, I like to keep it brief unless it’s face to face. That settled it in my heart. Whereas my friend could never keep it short, that was her style and that was ok! When you don’t understand or need clarification, do what you’d do with a friend - ask questions. God loves our questions; He loves to interact with us. I have found that He rarely answers the why questions but He’s great on the how ones!
Meditate on the scriptures. The Bible is full of examples and instructions on how to do it. Psalm 119 is full of David’s references to meditating on God’s word. Joshua was told by God to meditate on the book of the law (the Bible) day and night so that he would be successful in all that he did.
What is Godly meditation? To contemplate, to consider, to chew on, to ponder, to focus our minds for a period of time. Our thoughts determine how we behave, so what we think about is very important. God wants us to think on His word, what He says about us. If you know how to worry, you most certainly know how to meditate! We get to choose what we think about. What is going on in your head can make or break you, because your thoughts determine your words, and your words determine your actions.
What should be our focus? “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honourable, and right, and pure and lovely, and admirable…” Philippians 4:8
Many times, things would have been different in my life had I followed those simple instructions! How many times have we meditated on the negative doctor’s report, or a need for finances etc. We allowed what should have been a mole hill turn into a mountain, and it all took place in the mind! Our biggest battles take place in the mind. That’s why the Bible has so much to say about what to think on and how to take control over our thoughts!
Not everyone hears a voice; some sense or feel, or He may speak to you in pictures. There isn’t a right or wrong way. Enjoy the time that you spend with Him! Then think on (meditate) throughout the week on what He has shown you. Let Him expand on it. You may have questions you want to ask. As you read your Bible, invite the Holy Spirit to join you, talk to him about what you’re reading, ask your questions, but make time to listen and to write down the things that He shows you. Maybe share with those who will encourage you. Note that the emphasis is on encourage! The Holy Spirit is our teacher as well as our comforter. In John 15, Jesus told the disciples that when the Father sends the Holy Spirit He would teach them everything and remind them of all that Jesus taught them. It will be the Holy Spirit who will lead us into all truth, that as the Holy Spirit receives from the Father, He will reveal it to us. He will bring Glory to the Father and Son through the revelation that we receive from Him. I never read the Bible without His help.
A friend’s testimony of encountering God.
It was a beautiful bookstore, full of Christian themed books, CDs, DVDs and ornaments. I looked around constantly in conversation with God; asking Him to guide me to what I thought He wanted me to buy. I picked up one book after another, based on my interests. I even overheard the bookstore assistant suggest a book to another customer, so I listened intently in case that was a message for me. I looked at the book. It was about older women giving guidance to younger women. I looked at the price again, thinking it was too much, and put the book down… yes, there is a theme here.
I looked along the aisles and picked up books hoping to feel something. I prayed, I pleaded for a sign. I picked up a book by an author I had heard of. I read the blurb and began to cry. It was as if she was talking to me. But I still put it down. After about an hour I gave up, disheartened. I left and went into a M&S store opposite. I felt an overwhelming sadness and depression take over me as I looked at the Christmas merchandise and people shopping for their loved ones. I felt so alone and bereft, my mum on my mind as it’s the month she died, fourteen years ago. She loved M&S. I had to hide my tears as a sales assistant stopped me asking if I wanted to change energy suppliers! I said I wasn’t interested. She was very persistent - like God, was this another message? I was being asked to change who I draw my energy from!
By now I’d had enough. I wanted to go home and forget the whole thing. I felt deflated and upset that I got nothing from God. I questioned whether it was even from God or my desire to hear Him. Back home I turned to my journal where I share my thoughts and feelings, and as I was writing it occurred to me - God had been talking to me all through the journey. He was testing my obedience; He was testing my faith! He showed me the books and the ones I picked up had messages for me in their blurbs, especially where I needed emotional healing. More importantly, His message was turn to God, Jesus is the way. I don’t have to go searching this way and that anymore. He is there for me, as He has always been. I’ve not been obedient, like a naughty teenager thinking I know best. Well, I don’t know best, and I surrender! I don’t need to read any books to find God, I need to read His book - the Bible. Christina C
Activation: The aim is to practise hearing God’s voice.
Go to a quiet place, and lie or sit - whatever is comfortable for you. Either select your favourite Bible verse or use Psalm 23. Ask the Holy Spirit to join you and give you understanding and revelation as you think on the scripture you have chosen. Ask the Holy Spirit how it applies to your life, your situation, and how to appropriate it. Ask Him if there is anything that He wants to talk to you about. Write down what you believe He is saying to you. Don’t worry about spelling etc. and don’t try to analyse it as you write. Don’t talk yourself out of what you have written as just wild imaginations! Start a journal and keep it with you. It will take practice for you to train your mind to be still, but eventually it will become easier to enter His presence.
We often miss hearing God’s voice simply because we aren’t paying attention. Rick Warren
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