I was reading the Book of Samuel last night and over and over throughout the book it told the stories of the servants of God going before the Lord with very specific questions and how they received very specific answers from God. I noticed that some of the answers were audible--they were heard with human senses, while other times, there was no mention of how the answer came to be "heard". As my eyes became heavy with sleep, I drifted off thinking how great it would be if the audible voice of God was the way He led His people still...
When I woke up this morning, the first thing on my mind and heart was the very thing that was there when I fell asleep. Only now, the voice of the Holy Spirit was leading me in Truth! Lk 9:62 And Jesus said to him, "no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back at the things behind is fit for the kingdom of God."
Jesus was and is all about the "new". He is our new covenant with God. He is doing a new thing among us. He has given us a new spirit to lead us in all truth. He gave us a new commandment. He gives us a new heart. His mercies are new each morning. We are to look with great expectation to a new Heaven and a new Earth . We are to put on the new nature of Him. He will give us a new name and a new body. We are a new creation and are given a new birth! Wow! Forgive me Lord for my foolish thoughts.
Being led by the Holy Spirit is a special gift. But it is a leading that needs to be cultivated. I am in no way discounting the Holy Spirit here, just follow this with me. I simply mean that (for me) I must be in a place of prayer, quiet, obedience, etc to hear the leading. Now let me clarify that further. I have heard the promptings of the Holy Spirit in a noisy airport! What I mean is that I must live a life of prayer and the discipline of quietness before the Lord. I must cultivate a relationship with God through worship, prayer, waiting on Him, and obedience to His word. It is in this relationship, that I enjoy the give and take or the conversation with God.
Years ago I had a husband who was, shall I say, difficult to please. (OK, darn near impossible to please!) Anyway, I would do everything in my power to make sure that when he came home, all would be clean and perfect---no noise from the kids, nothing out of place--so as not to upset him for he often became violent. One day, I prayed about what to make him for dinner. I know that sounds crazy, but I prayed about everything related to him because I was so fearful. On this particular day, I heard in my Spirit that I should prepare a salad. "A salad?" I must have heard wrong...He was usually ravenous when he got home, a salad would never do. So I went to the store and purchased everything I needed and prepared lasagna and a salad! That evening, my husband came home and dinner was being put on the table as always, and he looked at me and said, "all I want is a salad." I nearly died! I served him a salad and then went to my room and wept. Not because I had slaved all day in the kitchen, but because I realized at that moment, that the God of the Universe cared so deeply for me, cared about something so minor as a salad, and I hadn't listened.
I will never forget that night as long as I live! God did a new thing in my heart that night! He demonstrated to me personally how much he cared for me. He showed me that even my time was valuable to Him. I didn't need to waste the time on the lasagna, I could have just made a salad in 5 minutes! God showed me His love for me. He continues to show it to me in ways that are so personal, that only the One who has counted the hairs on my head, and knows the length of my days; who knows me so intimately that I can come before Him and just sit quietly, and have every prayer heard. This is all part of the NEW Covenant. How grateful I am for the Blood of Jesus! How awesome it is to be counted as a child of God. And one day soon, to be presented to the Lord as a pure, unblemished, fully prepared Bride. I am blessed.
Father, we thank you for the sacrifice of your Son, so that we may enjoy the fullness of the New Covenant with you. We no longer have to come before you with a slayed animal because the Blood of Jesus fully atoned for all the sin of this world. How He bore that burden, I will never be able to comprehend. But because of it, we have access to you. Because of it, we can be one with You just as Jesus is one with You. We can be lead by the Comforter, the One who leads us in all Truth, even Your Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord, for your generosity towards us. Thank you that you care so deeply and know us so intimately and that you want only the best for us. Amen
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