God wants to speak to you through every situation…
WEEK 4 – Celebrating 100 Years of Oswald Chambers
VERSE: “Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.” 1 Samuel 3:15
OSWALD: God [rarely] speaks to us in startling ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand, and we say, “I wonder if that is God’s voice?” Isaiah said that the Lord spake to him “with a strong hand,” that is, by the pressure of circumstances (Isaiah 8:11). Nothing touches our lives but it is God Himself speaking. Do we discern His hand or only mere occurrence? (My Utmost for His Highest – January 30th)
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How It Spoke to Me…
Have you ever had God speak to you through the “strong hand” of circumstances?
I have. It isn’t a comfortable place to be.
It feels restrictive and often, confusing. I feel certain God is as upset as I am over the injustice of my situation, so I spend most of my time complaining and trying to escape rather than pausing to find out what God might want to do in the midst of my difficulty.
“Get into the habit of saying, ‘Speak, Lord,’ and life will become a romance.” – Oswald Chambers
That’s Oswald’s advice, and I love that line. Rather than rebuking my situation or immediately going into fix-it mode, I’m invited to a romance. An adventure of trust. A love-affair with my God that grows deeper as I learn to look to Him in everything. After all…
The best stories involve obstacles that must be overcome. Click To Tweet
Rather than defaulting to fear, I want to learn how to say, “Speak, Lord” when circumstances press. But then, as Oswald suggests, I need to “make time to listen.”
Though fear shouts to do something – anything and right now! To run, to freak out, to get angry, to get even – instead, God invites me to stop and lift my eyes to Him.
Stilling my heart to hear what He might say. Listening for the directions He might give. The perspective He might share. Opening my eyes to the gift which might be found in the middle of my circumstances.
“Speak, Lord.” With these two simple words, a little boy named Samuel began his romance with God. And in return, God used that little boy to further His love affair with humanity.
Imagine what God might do with you and me if, rather than resisting the pressure of circumstances, we understood that “nothing touches our lives but it is God Himself speaking.” With that in mind, I think we’d begin embracing our circumstances rather than resenting them.
Allowing God to do whatever He wants in us, whenever and however He wants to do it.
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I’d love to hear from you…What stood out most in your Bible and devotional reading this week?