What’s up PULSE peeps? I hope y’all are all
enjoying your summer! I’ve been thinking about all of you! I’ve also been thinking about the
awesome spoken word that our own Raquel Mooring did at the last PULSE before
summer break. In case you missed it, she eloquently and dynamically
communicated how summer’s freedom can lead to laziness in our relationship with
God.
Summer’s free time seems harmless until we
find ourselves more in relationship with the lifeguards at the local pool than
with Jesus. It’s easy to be oblivious to the distance in our relationship with
Jesus until an issue comes up we feel like God is being silent with us.
Frustrated, we ask, “Where are you, God? Why aren’t you speaking to me? Do you even speak anymore?”
The thing is, God never stops speaking to us. We just stop listening. And, when we stop listening, His voice
becomes unfamiliar, and we can’t recognize Him anymore.
In John 16:7, 12-15 Jesus tells
His disciples,
“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away,
because if I don’t, the Helper won’t
come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it
now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he
will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell
you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me
glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the
Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he
receives from me.’”
Did you catch that? As Jesus was leaving earth,
He told His disciples He has a lot more to say to them, but can’t right now, so
He is sending the Holy Spirit who will guide them into the Truth that He wanted
to communicate to them in that moment. In other words, God is still speaking to
us, and guiding us, through His Spirit today.
That’s great news. Equally great news is found in 1 Corinthians
6:19 where it says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples (dwelling place) of the Holy Spirit?” So, the means by
which God has chosen to speak (through His Spirit) lives inside of us.
This is why so many Christians say, “I can’t tell if it’s my thoughts
or if it’s God speaking. What does
God sound like?” He sounds like you…except better because He
says things that we wouldn’t say. God speaks to us from the depths of our
own soul because that’s where He lives. We have to quiet ourselves
and listen to the Spirit of God inside of us.
The truth is, God wants to communicate with us. He is already speaking, waiting on us
to recognize His voice. Let’s not
spend the whole summer without taking a moment to spend time in His presence.
All we have to do is sit down, close ourselves away with God, and say,
“God, speak.” And, He will. All we
have to do is listen.
