How long will we wander, before returning to Him?

Posts tagged ‘speaking’

31) Covered By His Blessings

Day 32 reading: Exodus, chapters 4-6

I’m just going to jump right into today’s scripture passage because I am excited and really feeling this. A recurring theme today is Moses’ own insecurity about speaking the words of God.

Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, I am slow of speech and tongue.”

The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him his sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” (4:10-12, NIV)

Marilyn teaching Salt Light studyI am there! Friends, let me admit now that I am not eloquent in my speech, either. When I write, I feel like the words absolutely flow out of me. My fingers dance across the keyboard in a lovely little rhythm. Everything flows and all is well in the world.

However, when I try to speak, even simple every-day conversation, even with my own family and friends, I feel like I am tripping and falling on my face at every turn. Can anyone relate?

There was a time in my life when the words didn’t flow as easily onto the page or computer, but I was much more self-assured in my speech. It’s as if I have traded one for the other; like I can’t have them both at the same time. Very interesting dynamic, I think. (frustrating, at times…but interesting just the same)

But here’s the cool part: when it’s truly crunch time, when what I am saying aloud is serious and sound and uplifting to Him, the words flow exactly as they should. When everything is clicking, I couldn’t write the words better and they take no thought, no obsessing, no processing, the words just flow from my mouth. The difference is that when the Lord is guiding my words and those words are falling on ears prepared by Him to truly hear, it’s not me speaking, but Him speaking through me.

The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth?”

Amen, my Father, amen! Message received!

Yet even Moses, who had been directly called by the Lord, who had spoken to the Lord on several occasions, was still not sure of his abilities to speak and pass along the Word of God.

Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent…I am slow of speech and tongue.” (4:10)

But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” (6:12, NIV)

But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?” (6:30, NIV)

But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.” (4:13, NIV)

Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on  his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.” (4:14-16, NIV)

Again and again so far in our journey, and in our current days, God makes amendments in the plan to account for our very human shortfalls. It doesn’t effect the end result, but sometimes the twists and turns our humanness put into His mighty plan for our lives have to be frustrating to Him.

How many times in my own doubts and fears have I put a wrench in God’s plans for my own life? Too many for ME to count, I’m sure! The joy in this is that as long as we are seeking to please Him with our steps, as long as we are praying for His guidance, even our slips will only cause stumbles, but not falls. He’s got YOU, have no fear!

My friends, I am so glad to be covered by His blessings.

Make it a great day,

Marilyn

Day 32 reading: Exodus, chapters 7-9

Category:

Bible in a Year-Chronological Study, Exodus, Faith, Gifts & Talents, Prayer, Seeing God, Trust

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26) God spoke through Joseph

Some days I wish our reading was more theme-grouped. For instance we ended yesterday’s reading and begin today’s reading with dream interpretation. I know there are several places throughout the Bible where the Lord speaks to people through dreams, or dreams have to be interpreted, and I would love to study those as a whole for comparison. Maybe next year! Until then, we will continue our reading, chronologically. I am no history buff, but I can already tell that I am putting some pieces together in Biblical history, just from our 26 days together. I’m looking forward to all the further knowledge we’ll gain from continuing our study.

Day 26 reading: Genesis, chapters 41-42

God used Joseph to interpret the cup holder and baker’s dreams in yesterday’s reading, and the Pharaoh’s dreams in today’s. Joseph gives all the glory to God, and, in turn, God spoke through Joseph.

sky sunset stormEvery day that I wake up from a night full of dreams, I wonder ‘why did I just dream that?’ I analyze, I think through, I go over and over through the details of the dream, and I wonder at it’s cosmic meaning. Like I said yesterday (also within our dream-theme), I am resigned now to believe that if the dream is of great importance, God will be sure I:

  1. remember it in the morning
  2. understand it’s deep meaning
  3. that the details and instructions are laid out for me Barney-style (so simplified that even I can get what He’s trying to tell me).

I think anymore that God has resorted to speaking to me in my deepest prayers, and in our quiet time together; I think He knows that at least then I’m the most open to whatever He has to share with me, and under those circumstances, I will better accept any message He has for me.

Does anyone else feel this way? Like it better be REALLY obvious if God wants to speak to you through your dreams because, let’s face it, we have some really strange dreams sometimes. Scary at times, day to day stuff at other times, romantic, even sometimes dirty; and every time don’t you just wake up and wonder, ‘why???’ I do!

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” (41:39-40, NIV)

God does some strange things, sometimes, at least by human standards. But, just like he allowed Joseph to be sold into slavery by his brothers, then spend years in prison just to be freed and made second only to the Pharaoh; when we remain true to Him and His calling for our lives, He is able to work through us as He did through Joseph. There’s no account where Joseph doubted that God was working in Him. Joseph knew God was with him. And, no matter the worldly circumstances, Joseph took comfort in that knowledge.

Then, after seven years of feasting and in the midst of seven years of famine, Jacob sent all but one of Joseph’s brothers to Egypt for food; he sent them unknowingly to their long-lost brother, Joseph. Can you imagine how Joseph’s face flushed when he first saw his brothers?

I know too well the feeling of running into someone that I haven’t seen in a long time but didn’t get along with when I did see them. Or, some quarrel or disagreement came between you which has never really been resolved, just swept under the rug. That issue is all but forgotten when suddenly, without warning, there’s that person who caused you so much pain or anger or guilt. In that first moment of seeing them, isn’t it like going through a thousand different emotions in a split second? When you’ve lived life like I have, you’ve made some enemies, you’ve wronged some people, you’ve left things undone, and you’ve tried to forget the pain in the past. But the flush that goes through you when you see that person again or when something reminds you of that memory hits hard.

As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. ”Where do you come from?” he asked.

“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. (42: 7-8, NIV)

I gather from that passage that Joseph’s initial reaction was perfectly human anger and distrust.

Just like I wish we were studying these few day’s worth of passages by theme, I also found that I wanted to keep reading even when I reached the end of today’s study passage. We reach an exciting climax in the story of Joseph and his brothers, just as we reach the end.

As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened.

Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”

Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.”

But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.” (42: 35-38, NIV)

My heart caught in my chest. I can’t wait for Joseph to see Benjamin and for all to be right, again, in their family. I want Jacob to see his dear son, alive! I want to see the brother’s faces when they realize who they’ve been bowing down to, that brother whom they envied so that they thought of killing him. This is such an interesting part of the Bible and I am so enjoying reading it all, chronologically, with completely fresh eyes and a heart only for God.

Make it a great day,

Marilyn

Day 27 reading: Genesis, chapters 43-45

Category:

Bible in a Year-Chronological Study, Blessings, Faith, Genesis, Healing, Prayer, Quiet time, Seeing God, Trust

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18) His Presence Known

Carrying over the thought from Day 17 about “The God Who Sees Me,” I am struck by how often God appears in some tangible form in our readings. He appeared to Adam and Eve in some form in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8); He spoke directly with Cain (Genesis 4:6 & 10); He spoke to Noah and directed the building of the ark and the repopulating the earth (Genesis 6-9); the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building in Babylon (Genesis 11:5, NIV); He spoke to Job out of the storm (Job 38-42); and now He is speaking and appearing in various forms to Abraham and his family (Genesis 12+). God sees us, God lives in us, and God appears among us. What a wonderful truth!

Without further adieu, today’s reading: Genesis, chapters 19-21

Two angels appear to Lot in Sodom, to warn him and help him escape destruction. Have you ever felt as if you were in the presence of an angel of God? I have and it gives me chills to even think of it. (FYI–this is one of the matters I will question when I get the opportunity to ask Father God all the questions I want in Heaven) Whether angels live and walk among us is a matter only for God to know and Hollywood to aggrandize, but I do know that there are people and circumstances that are absolutely bursting with the loving grace that can only be from the Lord, our God.

God appeared to Abimelech in a dream, as He appears many times throughout the Bible. My human mind tends to wonder to the question: if God appears to me in a dream, how do I know that it is Him and not just some really unique dream? The answer comes even before I really have time to attempt to process the question: if it’s Him, YOU’LL KNOW. God doesn’t do anything half-way and you can be sure that if He chooses to reach out to you through a dream or a vision, you will know it is from Him.

Have you heard God’s voice, speaking to you so clearly that it’s as if He is right there standing next to you? Although I won’t know for certain about my encounter with an angel, and I can’t ever recall having a God-inspired dream, I have heard Him speak to me and when He does, let me tell you, I stop everything else I am doing and listen up! I can tell you this, friends, even in my limited understanding of God and His ways, I know that if He wants you to hear Him you better listen! In a previous post, entitled Thumbprints, I wrote about just such an encounter with the audibility of God.

If God tells you to build an ark, build it! If He tells you to eat this, not that, listen! If God says He will bless you with descendants too numerous to count, you don’t have to knock up your maidservant to make it happen. When he speaks to us, in whatever form He chooses, we must listen.

Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. (21:1-2, NIV)

God isn’t human! I hate to be Captain Obvious here, but so often our human selves seem to think all of the promises God has made to us since Creation have been mere words. As humans, we have a knack for promising ourselves into the ground. We’ll promise to get this chore done or that task checked off. We promise to read the Bible in a Year or lose 20 pounds by summer beach weather. But, as humans, our promises are often only partial-promises. So often, we fall painfully short of the mark. Not God! God keeps His promises every time. EVERY TIME. God speaks to us, tells us “do not be so distressed” (21:12, NIV), gives us direction, gives us comfort, He opens our eyes (21:19). He is an honest and faithful Creator God and He will be ever-faithful to us, no matter how many times we have messed up in the past or will surely mess up in the future.

Help me watch for the promises to come as we continue our chronological journey through the Bible. We are 2 1/2 weeks in and there is so much more in store for us along this journey than we can even begin to comprehend this early in the game.

Tomorrow’s reading: Genesis, chapters 22-24

Make it a great day,

Marilyn

Category:

Bible in a Year-Chronological Study, Faith, Genesis, Seeing God

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3) United in Language and in Service to God

Today’s reading is Genesis, chapters 8-11, and today what I am most drawn to focusing on is the first nine verses of chapter 11, all about the Tower of Babel.

Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.

They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they pursue to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.

First of all, can you even begin to imagine what it would be like for the whole world to speak one language? Wow! It’s the little things in life that amaze me the most, I guess. However, God scattered the languages of the people because this one-language world was uniting against God rather than working together for the greater good and will of God. So, He scattered them abroad from over the face of the whole earth.

I am blessed to know that one day in eternity we will each share that same unified language, again, and one will understand the other, no matter where in the world we began. “For then [changing their impure language] I will give to the people a clear and pure speech from pure lips, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one unanimous consent and one united shoulder [bearing the yoke of the Lord].” (Zephaniah 3:9, Amplified) Then, we will read (in about a year) that a great multitude will stand before the throne, all nations, all tribes, all people, all languages, and we will stand there, holding palm branches, and singing out in one loud voice, praises to God (see Revelation 7:9-12)!

Until that day, I will continue to pray to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gives utterance (Acts 2:4), with the joy of knowing the “gift of tongues” –a taste of this united language so long ago broken apart– is a promise to the Church that one day those scattered voices will once again be united and the sin that was the Tower of Babel will be overthrown!

Let us each try today and everyday, to raise our voices, in whatever language we speak, in unity to our one true God, Creater of all things, Maker of heaven and earth! God knew at Babel that there was strength in unity, the key is that we must unify on common ground and in service to God alone.

Tomorrow’s reading: Job 1-5

Until then

Make it a great day,

Marilyn

Category:

Acts, Bible in a Year-Chronological Study, Genesis, Revelation, Zephaniah

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