As the holidays are upon us so is a lot of business and chaos. Read on to find out what can make this season and the rest of the year easier for us, especially as we live Unseen.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

My sheep hear my voice and the voice of another they will not quickly follow. John 10:4-5

One spring we were at a women’s retreat near Hamilton, Texas and our meeting place was off the beaten path.  After unpacking, I looked outside and saw a strange sight. 3 or 4 women were walking around seemingly aimlessly, holding their cellphones to their ears. One of my friends was walking in a circle around a stick standing up in the dirt. I asked her what she was doing and she said that was the only place she had found at camp where she could get cell phone signal.

Even without technological issues, it can be hard to hear what you need to in the physical world. There are distractions and noises that drown out what we need to hear and compete for our attention. My husband has a condition where every noise he hears comes in at the same volume and intensity. The TV, radio, air conditioner, refrigerator hum, dog snuffling and cars outside are the same level as me trying to talk to him. This makes him stressed out and irritable and crowds are almost more than he can take. If he goes to the store he likes to go in the middle of the night. My child has a similar issue and swears that he can hear crawfish tapping on the glass in the classroom aquariums.

It can be just as hard or harder to hear what we need to in our spiritual life. We know the truth but may need to be reminded of it. Fortunately this is what Jesus said the Holy Spirit will do for us. (John 16:13 ) We may feel like we need a stick in the spiritual mud to communicate with God , trying to say the right words or use the right ritual. Jesus addressed this when he talked about the Pharisee and the publican.  In Luke 18. The publican, with his humility was heard by God even without the religious trappings. It may be hard to hear God with the distractions of the world and inside our own minds, but it can be done.

Hearing God happens in different ways. It may be a still small voice like it was for Elijah. (1 Kings 19:12    ) It may be hearing something in the sermon or Bible class that speaks to you. It may be something you hear from another believer. This morning I found a quiet place and wrote down all the scriptures that came to mind. Today most of them were about standing firm, being still and trusting.  One of the most important things that helps us to hear God is to spend time with him so we know his voice. John 10:4-5 says, My sheep hear my voice and the voice of another they will not quickly follow. Jeremiah 29:13 says you will seek me and will find me when you search with all your heart.

Ask God to open your ears to hear his voice. Then help someone else tune in also.

One God Fits All

Welcome to Unseen today. God is unique in the way he relates to each of us. Read on for a lesson in how I learned this.

One God fits All

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone  1 Corinthians 12:4-6

My mom was very creative and could come up with some good ideas to keep us all busy and entertained. One summer she was taking painting lessons and decided to share the joy. She opened up the garage door and set up card tables and portable easels. She gathered me and my sister, a few assorted friends and my two grandmothers. She talked us through the process of creating the painting. It was a fun day together and at the end we each had a painting. What struck me at the time was that even though we were all working together and doing the same steps, all the pictures came out very different. I almost wondered if we had been in the same class at all.

It is tempting to see God as a one size fits all God. We do what he says and he meets our needs. We can see it as cut and dried. The reality is quite different. He deals with different people differently and with one person differently from one time to the next. Start with Moses. One time He has him strike the rock and another speak to it to get water. When he called the apostles he approached each one differently. Although there were several blind men healed, they were healed in different ways, such as speaking the cure(Mark 10:52), touching the person’s eyes (Matt. 20:34), and spitting and making clay to put on the person’s eyes (John 9:6). Also, while some were completely healed immediately others took time, such as the man who said first he saw trees walking around and then saw properly.  (Mark 8:23-25) Also, his approach to someone like the woman caught in adultery was completely different from his approach to the Pharisees.

  He does the same thing today. I hear small things from God all the time such as songs, scriptures, insights, and a still small voice. My friend who is hard of hearing has a hard time understanding what she reads, but she has dreams where she has insights from God. My child is much more likely to hear from God in spurts rather than a constant stream. Why would God do this? He tells us that we are part of a body and that we all have different gifts. He told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:9 that he had set him apart before he was born to be a prophet. He loves us individually and has plans for each of us. (Jeremiah 29:11. Like the paintings were all similar but different, so is each believer’s walk with God unique and special to him.  God knows us from the inside out because he created us and knows how we think and work.  

We need to understand this and not judge how God relates to another person. I am not saying all roads lead to heaven. I am saying that because someone’s interaction with God does not mirror mine that does not make them wrong. Enjoy your walk with a creative God who loves you as his precious child.