WATCHWORD:
After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water… he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “this is my dearly loved son, who brings me great joy.“ Matthew 3:16-17
Meditation:
He Speaks to Me
A voice from heaven? Is that what those gathered along the Baptism River heard? The Holy Spirit speaking loud enough for all to hear, declaring that this man, this Jesus who was just baptized, “is my dearly loved son, who brings me great joy.“ Had you been there to witness this divine event, what would you have thought?
How does God speak to you? He does you know. Is it in a voice so loud that even those nearby could hear? Probably not. Does he speak in Latin or Greek or Hebrew? Or perhaps in Spanish, Chinese, or Hindi? Or, does he use a gentle whisper, or the nagging of your conscience, or the shifting of your circumstances, or the facing of difficulties in your life? Do you take the time to be still and listen to the Holy Spirit, the divine gift you have within you?
How, indeed, does God speak? It takes practice to fully grasp the nudges, the messages, the thoughts, the ideas that come to you and you begin to realize that is God, His voice, communicating with you. Can you sense and understand what he is saying through His guidance, His blessings, leading you?
How about this: Have you ever seen the spirit of God? Have you ever had a sense of His presence in your life, a feeling so strong and so profound that it almost made you look around because it felt like a physical presence, an awareness of something tangible. Do you believe that we can ‘see’, with inward spiritual eyes, the spirit of God? Maybe in the midst of prayer you have this strong sense that even as you were praying, you had an awareness that the Lord was already at work and there wasn’t a question in your mind, it was a spiritual certainty.
My time with the Lord is early in the morning and with greater frequency, in recent years, I find myself carrying on a prayer-conversation with the Lord; whom I sense is sitting on the couch across from me. I know that sounds a bit strange, but that is how I ‘see’ the Lord in the spirit-world of my prayer time. It took me a long time to be aware of and listen to what the Lord had to say through the Holy Spirit. Even now my listening is flawed and intermittent, and yet the Lord is faithful to me and I try, in my own limited way, to be faithful to him.
One final point. I was inspired to write this devotional just a few days ago, then this Sunday I attended worship service at my home church. There, beside the alter was a banner with the declaration, “Today God spoke my name.” Was that an acknowledgement from God? I know only one way to understand the ‘intersection’ of that word from God written on the banner and this devotional: Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10); a call to stop trying to understand it all, and simply be still, believe and rest in His presence. Amen.
Closing Prayer:
I believe Lord that you are right here with us although our human eyes do not see you, in our faith we sense your presence. Help us Lord to keep our mind from straying and focus on the truths which you want us to live out and teach. Help us to make up our mind to put all of your commands into practice, Lord. Your servant is listening, speak Lord, speak to our soul. Amen.
