By Pastor Bob DeKlavon
When people are sick I pray that the Lord will speak in ways they might not otherwise have heard.
For many of us, our lives are marked by how much ‘we do.’
Some boast of not having had vacations for years.
Some spend little quality time with family or friends due to ‘busyness.’
We tend to be marked by ‘doing’ and not by ‘being.’
And then…we are forced to be still due to illness or surgery or…..a pandemic.
These are times when Christians can hear God speak in a uniquely powerful way.
In his book Soul Survivor, Philip Yancey writes:
“Suffering has a singular ability to break through normal defenses
and everyday routines, and to remind us of mortality.”
For several years when conducting a funeral I would cite Ecclesiastes 7:2, where the writer says:
“It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because that is the end of every man,
And the living takes it to heart.”
We know life will one day end so we should take heart TODAY with what God wants to say.
I can get so busy that I miss God—how about you?
I can hear so much noise that I don’t hear His voice—are you the same?
We know we should take time to be still and listen—but how often do we?
So, at a time like this, I pray that I {we} will hear what He has to say and take it to heart.
I venture a guess that most Christians are familiar with Psalm 46:10 where the sons of Korah write:
“Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
In times like we are in right now will you take some time to be still?
Will you take advantage of this moment in our earthly journey to hear the voice of the eternal God?
Take time to ask God to speak so you will hear.
Then listen and follow, give thanks, or simply enjoy His voice.