Devotions from Judy’s heart
We miss so much in life when we are full of words and race against the clock with activities. We rush from one thing to another and don’t leave spaces in our day to dial down and be quiet. I was reading what Paul Tournier, a Christian Doctor and counselor, had to say about the importance of silence and meditation. Silence is very important but not an end in itself. It is only a means to come closer to the Lord. In quietness we put ourselves in position to hear God speak but then we wait. Tournier often listened for a whole hour and practiced this spiritual discipline faithfully; there were times he found it difficult and felt he heard nothing. When he was interviewed, he shared how he waits in silence for God to stimulate his thoughts and to renew him. He often asked God to see people and their problems from God’s point of view, not his. During this time of silence, his mind was often flooded with things that needed to be done. But if he hung in there, thoughts might come of something God was asking him to do or to discover his underlying motive.
He said that intellectualism can be a hindrance and we must become like little children and to listen to God’s thoughts. He also cautioned others about imposing their thoughts on others and telling them what God’s will is for them. We cannot know what God’s will is for someone else! They must make their own discoveries. I get uncomfortable when I hear someone say, “Thus says the Lord, you are to quit your job and do such and such etc…” It is important that we hear for ourselves.
Once Tournier was contemplating giving up medicine and to become an evangelist but his wife was not in agreement. He spent months praying about it and listening and it resulted in him not doing either/or but a third way of integrating the psychological with the spiritual. He had patiently waited for God to guide him. God’s way is not always the same as our way, but better than ours.
So let us wait in silence on the Lord daily as it says in Psalm 40, “I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry…and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.”
Let us not rush but quietly and patiently wait in silence to hear Him.
Challenge for today: Spend some time during your day to just quietly listen to the Lord.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy