How Do You Sense God’s Communication?
Good Morning Friends,
Yesterday we were discussing the power of God speaking to people. God conversed with Adam in the garden and told Noah to build an ark and spoke to Moses in a burning bush and God promised Abraham a son. Paul heard God’s voice on the way to Damascus and an angel spoke as a messenger of God to Mary, but I am not just talking about audible speech, though I suppose that can happen, but instead all the ways we pick up on something supernatural being shared with us in a way that enlarges our soul. How Do You Sense God’s Communication?
Scripture: Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up.
Jonah 1:1-4 (NRSV)
Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Proverbs 4:25-27 (NIV)
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:15 (NRSV)
Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
Joel 2:28 (NRSV)
For lo, the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, reveals his thoughts to mortals, makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!
Amos 4:13 (NRSV)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse;
Romans 1:18–20 (NRSV)
Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Psalm 150 (NRSV)
Message: If we are aware and if we are truly listening, God communicates to us in all sorts of ways. Sometimes it is through circumstances and other times it is through the wise counsel of wisdom literature. Then on other occasions the Peace of Christ that passes understanding blesses us and that too is a communication. There are patterns all throughout the Bible that can speak to us and sometimes they do not have to be supernatural for God can use people and even animals to speak through them to us without words. Dreams and inspired visions of what might be are in many Bible stories as a way God influences us. We too can dream dreams. Perhaps most impactful is our very thoughts that reveal what we in faith can choose to be is what God wills for us and those times when the power and beauty of nature speaks to our very souls and moves us with confidence. It is a devotion and meditation of sorts. One of my favorite ways of hearing God is through the arts and especially music for we do have need of a view of life that transcends our own. Friends, music has a way of making us to surrender, receive and get out of the way…so too the visual arts. The first mention of art in the Bible is in Exodus 31. Here God is instructing Moses to create a tent for the Ark of the Covenant, and God mentions several artisans whom He has chosen to create “artistic designs” to beautify the tent. God says, “In the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill.” We learn two things about God’s view of art in this passage: He likes it, and He is the source of it. He wants man to create beautiful things, and their skill in doing so is from Him. So too David in the Psalms creates music designed to bring us closer to God. Listen for the message. Let God magnify your soul. Art is a gift of the Spirit of God and is to come alive in our relationship with Jesus.
Pray we are tuned in to God. Pray we hear the still small voice of God speaking to our souls. Pray we hear God speak through the Holy Spirit when we read scripture. Pray we prayerfully confirm as a witness to others God’s word. Pray when we meet a person of great faith we encourage them to share how they listen. Pray we know how to hear the Word of God. Pray with praise in the joy of the sounds of God. Pray we sense God’s communications and that they move us to flourish in the life abundant. Pray we sense God communicating to us in the beauty of nature and the magnificence of music and the arts. Pray our lives are works of art given as gift in relationship with Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 