Momentum (Christ – centred, Spirit – empowered, Mission – focused)
I am an activist; I like to get things done. A fast pace is where I feel most comfortable. However, the older I get the more I am aware of the still, small voice within my spirit calling me to slow down and be more attentive. My grandson, Jordon, has been one of my mentors on this part of my journey. He knows that Grandpa is easily distracted, and that if he wants my undivided attention he needs to get in my face—literally. On occasion, he will climb up onto my lap and pull my face into his world to ensure that he has all of me, then ask a simple yet profound question: “Grandpa, are you listening to me?”
Lately I have become keenly aware that God is often asking me the same question. A.W. Tozer writes, “God is speaking. Not God spoke, but God is speaking. He is, by His nature, continuously articulate. He fills the world with His speaking Voice…Whoever will listen will hear the speaking of Heaven. This is definitely not the hour when men take kindly to an exhortation to listen, for listening is not today a part of popular religion. We are at the opposite end of the pole from here. Religion has accepted the monstrous heresy that noise, size, activity, and bluster make a man dear to God. But we may take heart. To a people caught in the tempest of the last great conflict, God says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God,’ and still He says it, as if He means to tell us that our strength and safety lie not in noise but in silence.”
This summer I travelled to a placed called Three Crosses (3crosses.ning.com) in Huntsville, Ontario. Pastor Jeff Roy has developed a “spiritual listening experience” on 35 acres in one of the most beautiful places in the province. The listening experience involves a guided walk through “Gethsemane” and “Golgotha” as a space to be still and listen to the Voice of God.
Along the walk, I was invited to pour out my heart to God and then listen deeply to what God wanted to say to me personally. I was amazed at how quickly I was able to hear God’s Voice. He spoke directly to my fears and insecurities and, in particular, my fear of failure. At one point I was stunned to hear Him say, “David, release your image to me. You are still too attached to your image. You want to be seen as a good and strong leader but at times it consumes you. I am in charge, not you. Just show up and let me lead in you and through you. It is me in you, the hope of glory. I am the audience and I am pleased. Stop the performance and be you. Authentic, Transparent, and Humble! I can use that stuff! Release yourself fully to me. I am enough.”
As I lingered over these powerful words, my heart became light within me. God is speaking, and how I long to hear his voice. Jesus declared, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). All of us feel the press of the post-summer start-up with its multiple demands. So many voices all clamouring for our attention. Perhaps this is the very moment that God is urging you to “Be still.”
A.B. Simpson, commenting on his journey of listening, wrote, “And as I listened and slowly learned to obey, and shut my ears to every sound, I found after a while that when the other voices ceased, or I ceased to hear them, there was a still, small voice in the depths of my being that began to speak with an inexpressible tenderness, power, and comfort.”
Maybe today God is taking your face in His hands and gently but firmly saying, “Are you listening to me?” Lean in…it will change your world!
“If we would abide in Christ, we must stop trying to have God help us, and fall into God’s way and let Him lead.” — A.B. Simpson
Please find the original version in C&MA website