Listening to God’s Still Small Voice
Close your eyes for just a moment and picture the most beautiful water fountain you can. You decide what it looks like but make it something you’d love to just sit by for extended periods of time. Take in the consistent sound of the moving water, the abundance and power of it, the unending supply it enjoys. If you turn around and leave, It’s no longer visible but you can still hear it and you know it’s still there. But as you travel further away, the sound fades and other noise fills your ears and occupies your mind. That’s far enough, go back now because it’s so peaceful and lovely there.
The water in this fountain is pure, clean, and life giving. You can drink it, go ahead and try some. Can you taste it, isn’t it good? This paints a beautiful picture to accompany the words of Jesus Himself.
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:13-14 NKJV
Imagine the water fountain you can see is a picture of Jesus freely giving us the Living Water when we believe in Him. As we sit there with Him, He loves us, comforts us, teaches us and prepares us for each day. We can be in His presence and hear Him speak to our hearts. Jesus says we’ll never thirst again. He is of course speaking spiritually about our eternal lives in Him. While we still walk this Earth, drink lots of water, it’s very good for you. As we drink from Him we will taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8).
So that’s it then, we’re all good? Well, as you know we live in a troubled world with responsibilities and many demands. The world is also noisy and extremely distracting. If we’re not careful we can step too far away from Him and His presence. That’ll lead us away from His peace, His wisdom, His joy and into unnecessary troubles.
Beyond our own wandering, dark storms can come at any time. These ferocious storms can wreak havoc on our personal lives and the world in which we live. In the midst of a violent storm, it’s dark and rain is smashing down hard and loud. We can no longer see the Living Water Fountain, let alone hear it. His still small voice is lost in the noise around us. What do we do now?
Firstly, Stop For A Moment and remember the truth. The fountain is still there! Jesus is always right there with us even when we don’t see Him or sense His presence. Knowing this means we can move forward through the storm without fear. We may get wet but God’s Word assures us we will find Him when we seek Him (Matthew 7:8). He’s not playing hide and seek, He hasn’t left us. Our circumstances and storms may want us to think and believe that, but it’s a lie.
On our way thunder will roar, lightning will flash, wind will resist us and the rain may sting. This can make us want to give up. It’s easier to seek shelter elsewhere and rely on other people or things for our peace. This is the world’s way which we know typically opposes God’s way. The persistent rain is like thousands of voices crying out with thousands of answers that will not satisfy our soul.
This is the time to Stop For A Moment. Remember Him, seek Him when we don’t feel like it, when we get wet and muddy and even when we can’t see Him. Practically, we can think and meditate upon Him daily. Read His Word and listen for His still small voice, even in a storm. Like all things, with practise, we’ll soon hear Him clearly despite the noise around us.
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 NKJV
The Lord can use the storms of life to bless us and guide us back to Him. When lightning strikes there are brief seconds of bright light. With faith filled eyes we will see the silhouette of the fountain nearby. Our hope is restored, confirmation received, we’re on track. Consider also that just as the rain from a storm can fill a water tank, storms can fill our faith tank as we trust in Him.
Finally, we arrive back at the fountain, we may be soaked but right here we’ll receive His peace again. Remember the fountain you pictured earlier, it’s even better than that. In His presence, the ever so loud storm will be silenced even as it continues to rage around us. He is our peace, our strength, our hope and our future.
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