A still small voice
The pastor today started his sermon by talking about all the products out there with the word "simple" in them. he mentioned what do advertiser think we want to hear that word for? Maybe because most of our lives are so hectic and fast paced. Then, he also mentioned computers, that when they have been used for a while they sometimes freeze up because of so much information and downloads and other stuff put into them over the years. One thing that he asked us is at you at the point where your ready to "freak out and freeze up?"
One example that he used was of Elijah in 1 Kings 19:13 where God asks Elijah what he is doing at the mouth of a cave. Elijah had just had a great victory at Mt.Caramel and now was on the run from Jezebel. He was exhausted and tired and a lot like that computer. In the end, what he had to do was get quiet and hear the still, small voice of God that came not in an earthquake, but in a gentle whisper.
I paid attention to this sermon because I remember some of the references being used before in my life back in 2001 when I was on the verge of a major change. This may also be the case soon for me now. It is both an exciting and anxious time. I am prone to freaking out and freezing up. I am prone to getitng my eyes off of God and onto the storm around me.
Earlier today I had lunch at a noisy resturant. I mentioned to my wife that it felt like eating in the middle of a busy freeway, noisy, dirty and loud. I don't think I've ever gotten stressed out just going to lunch, but I was ready to leave before the food got there. To say that my life has been noisy like that is an understatement. I haven't prayed enough, been quiet enough, sought his face enough or been persistent enough in prayer. I'm guilty of the sin of self-sufficiency and I am repenting and committing myself to praying more and getting quiet so I can hear his voice.
One last thing that the pastor said was to talk about the "reboot" disk. The disk that make it like it was at the beginning. It gets rid of all the garbage and stuff you put on the computer and makes it like it was new. Sometimes we need to do that. Remember what it was like at the beginning and go back to simply focusing on Jesus. It made me think of when my faith was young and I was in the youth group and learning something about God everyday. It made me think about college and how close I was to Jesus and how it felt like I could reach out and touch him.
Jesus is able to take care of me. There is nothing too great for him. My anxiety is silly because no problem is hard for him. God can do anything that he wants and knows how to take care of me. My doubt though is a problem, it says something about my lack of trust. So, I need to surrender that doubt and have that simply childlike faith I did when I first came to him.
One example that he used was of Elijah in 1 Kings 19:13 where God asks Elijah what he is doing at the mouth of a cave. Elijah had just had a great victory at Mt.Caramel and now was on the run from Jezebel. He was exhausted and tired and a lot like that computer. In the end, what he had to do was get quiet and hear the still, small voice of God that came not in an earthquake, but in a gentle whisper.
I paid attention to this sermon because I remember some of the references being used before in my life back in 2001 when I was on the verge of a major change. This may also be the case soon for me now. It is both an exciting and anxious time. I am prone to freaking out and freezing up. I am prone to getitng my eyes off of God and onto the storm around me.
Earlier today I had lunch at a noisy resturant. I mentioned to my wife that it felt like eating in the middle of a busy freeway, noisy, dirty and loud. I don't think I've ever gotten stressed out just going to lunch, but I was ready to leave before the food got there. To say that my life has been noisy like that is an understatement. I haven't prayed enough, been quiet enough, sought his face enough or been persistent enough in prayer. I'm guilty of the sin of self-sufficiency and I am repenting and committing myself to praying more and getting quiet so I can hear his voice.
One last thing that the pastor said was to talk about the "reboot" disk. The disk that make it like it was at the beginning. It gets rid of all the garbage and stuff you put on the computer and makes it like it was new. Sometimes we need to do that. Remember what it was like at the beginning and go back to simply focusing on Jesus. It made me think of when my faith was young and I was in the youth group and learning something about God everyday. It made me think about college and how close I was to Jesus and how it felt like I could reach out and touch him.
Jesus is able to take care of me. There is nothing too great for him. My anxiety is silly because no problem is hard for him. God can do anything that he wants and knows how to take care of me. My doubt though is a problem, it says something about my lack of trust. So, I need to surrender that doubt and have that simply childlike faith I did when I first came to him.
