SILENCE: Lenten Devotion Day 28

Lenten Devotion Day 28

SILENCE

For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. 

Psalm 62:5

Life is loud. The busier we get the louder life becomes. We endure a whirlwind of noise, expectation, and chaos and then wonder why God has been silent. A couple of years ago I found myself weary of the noise of life. God's voice seemed a distant whisper and I felt great emptiness at the silence of his voice. I set out on a quest to hear God once more and ultimately came to the conclusion that God was not silent...I was simply in the midst of so much noise that I couldn't hear God. I tried many things to silence the world around me which ultimately let me to another conclusion...I also had to silence myself.

With the help of meditation, poetry, a spiritual director and a Tibetan Singing Bowl I relearned silence and reconnected with the voice of God. "For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is in him." 

Are you struggling to hear from God? Is your Lenten self-examination leaving you empty? Try taking the time to quiet your soul...REALLY quiet your soul. Each day carve out 30 minutes to just sit in silence and listen. Pray first and then devote 30 minutes to not think about anything but to simply listen in the silence for God's voice. After 30 minutes, try to journal or write down your thoughts and what you heard. You might be surprised at how clear 

God's voice comes 

in the

SILENCE

HEAR: Lenten Devotion Day 15

Lenten Photo Day 15

HEAR

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers."

John 10:3-5

When I was pregnant with my first child, Katie, my husband and I were all consumed by this miracle growing inside of me. We talked to her often and when a little elbow or foot would become apparent we would stroke it and tickle it and tell her how we couldn't wait to meet her. When she was born she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck and so they let us see her briefly and then whisked her away to be checked out. It was a few hours later before they brought her to me. My husband had gone to run an errand and when he returned I was holding Katie in my arms for the first time. I will never forget it, she was a few hours old but when Tim spoke her little eyes flew open and she began to strain to get her head turned so she could see him. She knew the sound of his voice and when she heard him - she responded by being drawn to him.

As we continue our Lenten journey we must remember the importance of prayer and daily scripture reading for this is how we come to recognize and know the voice of our savior. It is in spending that daily time with Jesus that we get familiar with his voice so that when we hear it - we too will respond by being drawn to him. As Jesus taught, the sheep aren't going to follow a strange voice - only the familiar one.

Is Jesus a familiar voice to you? When he speaks to you recognize him and respond? When he calls will you hear?

HEAR

the voice of Jesus

calling