My mind was wandering a bit this morning as I thought about writing this
post. As always, I prayed and asked the Lord for a message or a lesson to
communicate through my blog. Then, my eyes focused on the little clock my
husband had given me last year for Christmas. It sits on the table next to my
chair that I sit in every morning as I pray and read my Bible. I must
admit that I do not check this clock for the time much, since I have my phone
nearby, which automatically displays the time digitally. But, for some
reason today the clock caught my eye. As I looked I noticed the second
hand moving and suddenly it was as if my ears were unplugged and I could now
hear the ticking sound as the clock's hand moved from one second to another.
Funny how I had never heard that ticking sound before! Then I
peered down at my recent memory verse:
"I will stand at my watch and station
myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what he will say to me, and
what answer I am to give to this complaint." Habakkuk 2:1
The phrase, "I will look to see what he will say to me," has
been going over and over in my mind for a few weeks. How do you look to
hear? Habakkuk said that he was standing at his watch to see what the
Lord would say to him. Looking at the clock made the meaning of this
verse clearer to me. I never heard the ticking sound of the clock until
my eyes focused on it. The clock has been ticking beside my chair
everyday for almost a year, but I just now heard it! Why? I never heard
it because I never took the time to just sit and look at the actual hands of
the clock. I noticed the beauty of its frame and how it was a great accessory
to the other things I have displayed on the table. But, I never looked at its
mechanics and listened to hear if it was working. So, what was God's
message and lesson for me today?
First, I must be looking and watching for God to speak before I will
hear him. God can speak audibly, but He has never spoken to me in that
way. He has spoken to me through reading His Word, observing life around me,
and through other people. The key to hearing His voice is to be
intentionally looking for Him. We hear what we focus our attention on.
"The heavens declare the glory of God." (Psalm 19:1) The Lord will even speak through the sky, the stars, the sun and the moon if we take the time to notice. Have
you ever been with someone who is speaking to you, but you didn't hear a word
they said? It wasn't because they were not speaking loudly enough; it was
because you were not focused on them, but on other things, like what you wanted
to say next. So, I must learn to listen more intently and
intentionally.
I must also be standing as I watch to hear. Standing still, not
fidgeting like a child standing in a line while waiting to go to recess!
Now this is hard and it costs me precious time. But, the Lord
commands us to be still, "Be still and know that I am God."
Time does seem to slow down a bit, when we are still and focused. My mom
used to say, "a watched pot never boils." Focusing on the water
waiting anxiously for it to boil seems to slow down the process! It really
doesn't, but when we are intent on looking and watching we notice every little
detail. We see a little steam come from the pot, then one bubble appears, and
finally that one bubble multiplies and the entire pot of water is bubbling in a
roaring boil. When I take the time to sit still and quietly focus on the
truths of God in relation to the answers I am seeking from the Lord, the answer
comes - not always immediately, but it will be heard eventually! God speaks
slowly, intently, and in our stillness.
After I look to see, stand still to hear, I must station myself with
readiness to respond to what I have heard. After Habakkuk had watched and
waited patiently then the Lord replied, "Write down the revelation and
make it plain on tablets, so that a herald may run with it." (Habakkuk
2:2) Often times God will speak to me, but I get distracted from what He has
said and my response is delayed or even worse at times forgotten. When I do not
respond to His voice I no longer hear it, but it fades like the sound of the
clock’s ticking which has been swallowed up by the sounds of the cars moving
along the freeway and by my husbands good morning greeting. Yesterday, I
was reminded of my tendency to be distracted from God's voice. I received
a call from a person who represents the company through whom I purchased my
domain name, Provetheword.com, for a website that I have yet to create.
He informed me that I had two more years before I would have to renew my
domain name. He said I had purchased a 10-year contract. I had owned this
domain now for eight years! What? Had I delayed creating my website for 8
years? That was a lot of ticking that had sounded since I first got a
nudging from the Lord to offer a website to encourage people in the discipline
of scripture memory. I had looked, I had heard, but I had not run with
the message! God had already been speaking this message of completing
what you start as I had memorized another verse just a week ago that says,
"But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to
desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability." (2
Corinthians 8:11) Now my prayer is that I will get up from this
devotional chair and run with the message God has spoken to me!
How about you, have you been looking to hear God speak? Slow down
a bit today; focus on hearing God's voice either through looking up at the sky,
in His Word, or simply in your circumstance. If you hear His voice today
respond and do not delay then God's voice will get louder and louder! Oh how
sweet the sound of God's ticking - if only we would take the time to look to
hear what He will say!
Running with the Message!
Nancy
Loved this! Thanks Nancy.
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