WATCHWORD:
7 The strong and courageous. Be careful to obey all the commands I have given you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8Keep the word of the Lord always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:7-8
Meditation:
Monologue vs Dialogue
Do you, during any given day, spend time in God’s word, with God? Is your conversation with God one way, a series of short prayers dealing with the tough and sometimes rough road you are traveling, maybe a request for healing of friends or relatives? Are you aware of any nudges or musings or inspiration coming from the Holy Spirit within during those times?
One morning, I took time to read the Introduction written by the author of Jesus Calling, Sarah Young. She explained that she was daughter of a college professor who encouraged her to read widely and think for herself. She wrote about the first time she experienced the presence of God, in a setting that we could all relate to — A breathtaking moment of beauty high in snow-shrouded mountains looking down on the small village where she lived for a time. She described a time when she left the cozy comfort and security of her home and walked deeply into a wooded area and time seemed to stand still as she gazed in wonder at the beauty of that place. It was then that she became aware of a lovely presence and her involuntary response was to whisper “Sweet Jesus”.
She goes on to describe how this awareness of His presence has increased her intimacy with God more than any other spiritual discipline. It has been through this presence that she has found the themes and the messages that in her awareness felt to be the words of Jesus himself. Thus the title Jesus Calling becomes more than a title of a book, it becomes an explanation of the source, as her time with God changed from monologue to dialogue.
Can you relate to any of that? In your quiet time with God if you felt something, a thought, an idea, an inspiration that you knew in your heart was not a construct of your own thinking. Maybe, like me, you grabbed a pen and made a note in a small notebook so you don’t forget that moment, or thought. Maybe that inspiration persisted over days and weeks, and it brought a change in you, a change in purpose, a change in behavior.
Martin Luther sensed that presence when he wrote: “If the Holy Spirit should come and begin to preach to your heart, giving you rich and enlightened thoughts… be quiet and listen to him who can talk better than you; and note what he proclaims and write it down; so will you experience miracles as David said in Psalm 119:18, ‘Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things from your instruction.’”
Let’s be clear. When the Lord tells us to obey his commands, he’s talking about all that he has given to us, often in the whispers that come from the Holy Spirit within. Our time with the Lord was not intended to be a oneway conversation. It was intended to be a conversation with the Most High. Don’t be confused when you experience the informality of a conversation with God, because there is a certain sense of peace that accompanies that time with your Lord. You are the child of God and His love for you is all-encompassing. Recite your formal prayers if you wish, if that helps. But be aware that your genuine thoughts of love toward your Heavenly Father opens a dialogue. Surrender to the blessed conversation. So be it.
Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, open my heart to sense Your presence in my life. Lord, open my ears to Your words and thoughts and inspiration that comes through the Holy Spirit. Help me to rest in the assurance that I am in dialogue with the Creator of the universe and, Lord, I pray that you will grant me the courage and the boldness to follow through on all that You place on my heart, as I go forward. I offer these prayers, Lord, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
