There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us well nigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear because of the noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on.
–Frederick W. Faber
For me, this is a huge wake up call, because in my world, life is full of noise, hurry, and distraction. This is something I can’t seem to get away from. It is an ongoing, fast-paced, “not-gonna-stop-till-you-get-there” kind of thing. Do I blame my life’s busyness to the culture that surrounds me? I mean, it seems that everyone else is rushed as well…
This is what I desire: to slow down from the distracting noise of life, and actually breathe in the breath of our great Sustainer for once, hearing what He says.
This is reality: that there is not even enough space in between each of our breaths to let our ears be open to what our patient God is speaking to us.
So how do we find this balance of living in a hurried world, yet tentative and willing to listen to the Lord? Honestly, I’d say it really is something that every single day of our lives needs to keep in mind. Because let’s face it: today, it’s super easy to tune out the voice of God.
The word says draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). The more we draw near to God, the less we feel the need to be satisfied by the pleasures of the worldly things around us. His loving pursuit is captivating to our soul’s yearn for satisfaction.
1. Get AWAY from the busy.
2. Tune OUT the voices of the world.
3. Draw NEAR to the Father’s whispering words.
-B#
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
THREEFOLD
Something that has been burdening me lately is the act of being honest. The dictionary definition for this word is free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere. I mean, I truly want to be a man of integrity in any circumstance, so that I’ll please God’s heart. Of course, I am by NO means close to perfection in this area, but I wanted to share my thoughts on this issue.
Being Honest With Yourself
In the present day, I’m at a place where I want to desire to be completely honest with myself. This means, that I accept who I am, and accept all that God has created and called me to be. This means that if God calls me to be a fisherman, a lawyer, a musician, a janitor, a doctor, a waiter, a missionary, or a writer, I am content with nothing less than that. In this day and age, contentment with ourselves is hard to find among all of the distractions, mirages, and ways of men. We as humans more times than none feel the need to please others via putting up a “front” or super gluing a mask of lies onto our face, so that the world does not see who we “really” are. The problem here is obvious: if you are not being yourself, you’re being someone else, which is untruthful. I need to come to a place where I can boldly say, “I am Brandon Michael Sharp, and I am a child and lover of God.” If you are honest with yourself, you are able to be honest with others.
Being Honest With Others
There is nothing greater than an honest relationship with the people around you. Living a life of openness dedicated to edifying the body of Christ is something we all should strive for. It is when we are honest with others that people can be encouraged rather than brought down. Yet how many times have you, have I withheld the total truth from someone, resulting in a deceitful mindset. In doing so, we’re basically saying, “listen, I don’t really want the best for you. What I want is for you to ‘feel’ good for the time being, so that you won’t ever learn from your hardships, obstacles, and tribulations…” This is dangerous, because what people need is TRUTH. So next time someone asks you for advice, be honest with them in love, rather than keeping what they need to hear.
Being Honest With God
1 Chronicles 29:17
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
The most important aspect of this threefold, is being honest with God. The Lord sees inside of the heart and searches our thoughts. In other words, he knows us better than we know ourselves. So why do so many times, we keep secrets from Him like He won’t be able to see us for who we are? We cannot hide from the creator and sustainer of our lives. Paul says it best when he states in Ephesians 4 that there is “one God and Father of all, who is over all, and in all, and through all.” Who are we to hide from the God of ALL? Rather, let us come and bow before His throne with a sincere and contrite heart, knowing that He is who He is. Let us be like David when he says in Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
All this to say, that we’ll never come to a perfection in this area of honesty, but it is our calling to pursue after honesty, so that we will be blameless on the day of the Lord.
-B#
Being Honest With Yourself
In the present day, I’m at a place where I want to desire to be completely honest with myself. This means, that I accept who I am, and accept all that God has created and called me to be. This means that if God calls me to be a fisherman, a lawyer, a musician, a janitor, a doctor, a waiter, a missionary, or a writer, I am content with nothing less than that. In this day and age, contentment with ourselves is hard to find among all of the distractions, mirages, and ways of men. We as humans more times than none feel the need to please others via putting up a “front” or super gluing a mask of lies onto our face, so that the world does not see who we “really” are. The problem here is obvious: if you are not being yourself, you’re being someone else, which is untruthful. I need to come to a place where I can boldly say, “I am Brandon Michael Sharp, and I am a child and lover of God.” If you are honest with yourself, you are able to be honest with others.
Being Honest With Others
There is nothing greater than an honest relationship with the people around you. Living a life of openness dedicated to edifying the body of Christ is something we all should strive for. It is when we are honest with others that people can be encouraged rather than brought down. Yet how many times have you, have I withheld the total truth from someone, resulting in a deceitful mindset. In doing so, we’re basically saying, “listen, I don’t really want the best for you. What I want is for you to ‘feel’ good for the time being, so that you won’t ever learn from your hardships, obstacles, and tribulations…” This is dangerous, because what people need is TRUTH. So next time someone asks you for advice, be honest with them in love, rather than keeping what they need to hear.
Being Honest With God
1 Chronicles 29:17
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
The most important aspect of this threefold, is being honest with God. The Lord sees inside of the heart and searches our thoughts. In other words, he knows us better than we know ourselves. So why do so many times, we keep secrets from Him like He won’t be able to see us for who we are? We cannot hide from the creator and sustainer of our lives. Paul says it best when he states in Ephesians 4 that there is “one God and Father of all, who is over all, and in all, and through all.” Who are we to hide from the God of ALL? Rather, let us come and bow before His throne with a sincere and contrite heart, knowing that He is who He is. Let us be like David when he says in Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
All this to say, that we’ll never come to a perfection in this area of honesty, but it is our calling to pursue after honesty, so that we will be blameless on the day of the Lord.
-B#
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