SHHHH...listen...

Slow down. Whatever you are doing, put it down. Is it just me or are we way too busy these days? Do you ever have trouble just stopping what you're doing so you can simply be? I know I do. With the craziness of my life right now, getting ready to leave for South Africa and all, I don't want to slow down for anything! I can't afford to slow down. I have support to raise, thank you notes to send out, family and friends to have lunch with, team mates to coordinate with, and on top of that I have a spiritual life to upkeep! What do you mean "slow down"?! Well, as I'm sure many of you are aware of, God has a sense of humor that is always attached to a lesson to learn. Here's the sense of humor...I got my wisdom teeth taken out and have been stuck to the couch for almost 3 days now. I know, very funny...I look like a chipmunk. Ok, so here's the lesson attached...I have been forced to slow down, be quiet, and listen to what it is that God has been trying to tell me for months now but could never get a word in edge-wise. For the past few months my mind, body, and soul have been overloaded. As a result of this overload, my relationship with Christ was weakening. Now, don't misunderstand me, Christ never moved. I did. I started taking things into my own hands, saying with my lips that I trust Him but not ever fully letting go of things. I was stubborn and wouldn't listen. I just started this book a few days ago called Walking With God by John Eldridge. I decided to read this book because I knew I was not "walking with God" on a daily basis. The intimacy of my relationship with God was lost. I no longer was walking behind or even beside Him...I was running in front. How could I possibly follow His steps when I can't even see Him in front of me? Something had to change. So, yesterday I was reading this book and it told me to try and ask God the question, "What would you have me read today?" I thought, that's silly, God won't actually tell me what to read. But, I tried it anyways. The passage that I felt drawn to read was 1 Corinthians 3. Go ahead, look it up, it's not exactly the most encouraging passage in the Bible. It starts out by saying that the church members there are worldly! Paul is getting onto them for being worldly instead of spiritual. Then he gets onto them for their pride it seems like. Paul reminds us that we are nothing more than God's servants and God is the only one who makes anything grow. Then, as if that's not enough to think about, Paul finishes it up by saying that if we think we are wise by the world's standards we are fools! And that it is only by becoming a "fool" that we will become wise. Needless to say, this chapter really hit me in the face. God, given the opportunity to speak, definitely pointed out a few weaknesses in my life right now. All I had to do was be quiet and simply ask Him what He needed to tell me. Then I had to have an open heart to hear Him right and make the changes I needed to. God speaks through His Word. We know that. But when was the last time you opened it up and simply asked God to teach you something? Psalm 119 is an entire chapter all about the Word and how powerful it is. Let it be powerful in your life. SHHHH....just listen....