Just How Loud Does He Have To Say It?

 

I will never forget the day that I had my paradigm to God's "beyond audible" voice changed in my life.

 

I spoke in detail about it in the post "Do you hear what I hear?" and today's post is one that I would like to use to illustrate what I was expressing in that post.

 

There was a time in my life that I used to view God as someone who was mostly mad or mostly sad with me and my behaviour. "Could I make Him happy?" was the big question for the day and more often than not my failures would squelch that chance each day.

Then there was the whole issue of trying to go through the ritual of "listening" to Him. I did not know how to do that and I would pray and pray and feel as if I was talking to myself.

 

May I just stop here and say that I love how loudly that Father speaks.

 

I used to think that He only spoke through what was written in the Bible or through the pastor at church and so I would read the Bible until my eyes blurred and listen intently each and every week waiting to "Hear from Heaven" and I would pray and try with all my might to confess every sin I could think of in order to be worthy to have Him stoop to speak to me.

 

Then one day He opened my eyes to be able to "hear" Him.

 

Wait a minute. Opened your eyes to hear?

That's exactly right!

 

The Father's voice in our life is beyond audible!

 

We look for it to be heard in the way that we expect it to be and it must sound like the tone that we think it should be and we miss Him completely. I want to share something with You that Father shared with me in regards to hearing His "Beyond Audible" voice.

 

I was driving home from work this past Friday when a truck drove up in front of me. I could not help but notice the skull on the back window,

 

It was a picture of death and it stared me in the face for several miles. I would try to merge to the next lane in hopes of passing this guy but he kept merging with me and it was beginning to really frustrate me.

 

It is Mardi Gras time here in Mobile and I work very close in proximity to two large rescue missions, so in my commute I pass by these places and see the best that the can do with a heart that is open and searching for fulfillment (In a lot of cases).

 

It is very sad and especially during this time of the year with Mardi Gras it seems to really draw attention to the sight of people laying literally in the gutter passed out from an alcohol induced stooper.

 

I hate seeing people hurt by the effects of searching for fulfillment from empty wells.

 

 

The symbol on the truck in front of me reminded me for several miles of what I had seen throughout the day at work as well as the fact that the devil is alive and actively seeking to steal, kill, and destroy.

 

As I drove I breathed out a silent prayer that asked, "Father, why is this stuff everywhere I look? I hate seeing this and seeing people at the end of their rope and searching to seemingly no avail."

 

Just then a small Mercedes Benz cut in between me and the "Truck of death" and I had  to mash down on my brakes to avoid hitting it in the rear and my first reaction was to look at the license plate of the car.

 

That is when I became aware of a beautiful expression of an awesome God!

 

 

I realize that there are people who refuse to believe that God speaks to us daily and does so through more than just the Bible that we have. I have had people ask me if I really thought that I was good enough to hear God's voice every day, and I think its the wrong question to ask. The real question should be, "Do you think God is big enough to get through your thoughts of distraction to speak to you today?"

 

I saw the license plate of the car that was now between me and "Death and Evil" and I was amazed! 

 

Favor of God

That is when I heard Him speak into my spirit with that still small voice.

"Dan, your focus is off course. You are focused on what is wrong with the world and not focused on who is right. It is MY favor that stands between you and evil and you would have to go through ME to get to anything that could  ever hurt or harm you. It is MY favor that holds you up and it is MY favor that sustains you and MY favor alone that provides everything you need. Where ever you see evil Dan, MY favor is close at hand.
I am always present if you look for ME and there are people that will even be at this festival tonight that you are complaining about who are making wrong choices  because they are seeking to satisfy a thirst that I have placed within them.  It is a thirst for ME that they have, and they will be out in force looking to fill that void. MY favor will be seen by them when they ask to see ME, and Dan, some will find MY favor for them even in the middle of all of the evil that tries to block it out of their view."

I sat there stunned.

The God of the universe was using a license plate in traffic to speak an answer to a prayer that I had spoken to Him with my heart?

How incredibly simple yet complexly powerful was that?

It is all lined out so well to us that we miss it in our attempts to put a "formula" or "Science" behind the voice of God in our lives.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." ~Proverbs 3:5-6

Ways = Everything that I do, Everywhere that I go, and Everyone that I meet.

Acknowledge = Search for or Discover

If I am seeking to see God, I will see Him. It really is that simple.

He is everywhere you are and He is  constantly broadcasting out His voice to you if you will have ears to hear and eyes to see.

He truly is speaking with the intent to direct your path.

Take a moment today and ask Father to open your eyes to hear His voice. It will change your life!!!

Climbing with you,

~Dan

I would NEVER do that, or would I?

 

October 14, 2012, Felix Baumgartner ascended more than 24 miles above Earth's surface to the edge of space in a stratospheric balloon. Millions across the globe watched as he opened the door of the capsule, stepped off the platform, and broke the speed of sound while free falling safely back to Earth. Felix set three world records that day—and inspired us all to reach beyond the limits of our own realities, and re imagine our potential to achieve the incredible.

There is a statement that the space jumper Felix Baumgartner makes as he stands in the doorway of the space capsule just before he steps out into history as the highest space jump that i want to point out in case you missed it on the video.

"I wish you could see what I can see. Sometimes, you have to get up really high, to understand how small you are."

That statement resonated in my spirit and I have never forgotten it, nor have i ever forgotten seeing the curvature of the earth as Felix fell. Everything seemed to be in slow motion and completely still and for that few minutes there was nothing else that mattered except the realization that the things that may have bothered me that morning suddenly seemed insanely small.

As we watch something like this, we are really inspired and amazed but inevitably the thought goes through our mind at some point in the viewing that says, "I would never do something like that!" or maybe the thought says, "That is CRAZY!!! That guy is CRAZY!!!"

This is the problem.

We would NEVER do something like that.

I had the same thoughts as you until one day I decided that I needed to try something similar and the day that I tried it, my world, my relationship dynamics, and my comfort zone were forever changed!!!

While Felix Baumgartner looked out on the world from 24 Miles up, something similar had actually been done centuries before and it had been done without the help of a stratospheric balloon.

The method that was used then is the method that I decided to try.

One of the people in the Bible that I feel that I most closely understand is David. He stumbled just as much as he succeeded but his heart truly did want that relationship with Father.

One of the things that David had that was absolutely amazing was an ability to fully operate in times of distress with the proper perspective between himself and God.

He was not afraid to take the time to honestly look at himself or his circumstances in the reflective lens of God's magnitude.

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour." ~Psalms 8:3-5

"The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men." ~Psalms 11:4

"But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased."     ~Psalms 115:3

What is David really saying in these Psalms?

"I wish you could see what I can see. Sometimes, you have to get up really high, to understand how small you are."

Have you ever reached your limit?

I mean you have just hit a wall at full speed and you take a step back feeling completely overwhelmed and stunned that you are in the place that you are?

I was in that place this week and right there in the middle of that situation I decided to space jump.

I was out in my backyard and the night sky was FULL of stars and it was deep. I thought to myself, "Dan, if you were 60,000 feet up in the air, how important would this situation be?"

What would matter to you at 60,000 feet up?

Nothing. It would seem so small and the only thing that would really matter would be how much closer you would be to Father. You would truly catch a glimpse at how big He really is because you would see how small you really are.

At the end of the day what really matters anyway?

Being right in an argument?
Being the best?
Getting the best deal at another persons expense?
Getting the job done no matter what it does to people you leave in your wake?
How tough you are?
How business savvy you are?
How much money you made?
What kind of car you drive or the brands of clothes that you wear?

At the end of the day what matters most is what you did with the relationship that you have with Father. The realization and understanding that He truly is all that you need and that you operate your life out of Him and what He has made you through Him.

There are many ways to gain this perspective and you do not have to mentally space jump. For some it is forced when they hear the words, "I'm sorry but it is cancer." Some are able to see this when they receive layoff papers or an eviction notice and for some it comes when they receive a late night phone call.

It is that moment where suddenly nothing else matters but your relationship with Father and the realization that you are now closer to Him than you have ever felt the need to be before.

It is those times when we receive the understanding of the words;

 "I wish you could see what I can see. Sometimes, you have to get up really high, to understand how small you are."

Times when we realize and are reminded about just how BIG our Father truly is and how small that the distractions we so busily occupy ourselves with truly are.

I want to challenge you today to take a moment in a quiet time to just refocus on how BIG Father is and thank Him for the relationship that He made possible to us through Jesus.

It is powerful and He is powerful!

"Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?" ~Isaiah 66:1


Take a space jump today, the view will change your life!

Climbing with you,
~Dan