By Mary Lindow

The brightest and most life changing insights have often come during my darkest and hardest of days.  How about you?

I have found this to be true in my life and have also seen it happen in the lives of others.

IF…  we humbly listen to God in quiet trust.

If you’re listening to the television and you’re listening to the radio and searching the Internet and you’re listening to everybody else, you’re not going to get those insights.

But your brightest insights will come in your darkest days if you say, “God what do you want me to do?”  And then, YOU be quiet and YOU listen.

YES…. That!

A great example of this is in 1 Kings 19. It’s the story of Elijah.  Elijah was up on the mountain, nursing his wounds, having a bad time and hiding in a cave.  God needed to get his attention.  It says in verse 11 “Then the LORD passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks.

But… the LORD was not in the wind…  Then there was an earthquake.
But… the LORD was not in the earthquake.  After that there was a fire.
But… the LORD was not in the fire.
But… after the fire there was a soft whisper of a voice.

When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his cloak and he went out and stood in the entrance of the cave.  [He knew this was God talking.]  The voice said to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”

God speaks in the still and often the smallest of voices.  In a whisper!  Dear friend, what we need to do when we are going through change is to slow down our minds.  We just need to sit and we just choose to listen.

You get quiet and you let your mind slow down.  You read the Word of God and you talk to God in honest prayer.  You stop….

… and you just be quiet.

Look for God IN the time of change.  Ask God for wisdom.  Listen for God’s whisper.

You know what our problem is?  When change comes, we look for everything else except the LORD!  We look for a quick fix.  We look for an easy solution.  We look for a way out.  We look for comfort.  We look for relief.

What we need to look for is the LORD.  We need to look for God! Him ALONE!

When you’re in the middle of a problem you sure don’t want to start in saying, “What’s the quick fix?  How do I get out of this? How do I save my reputation and image!?  How do I turn things around?”

That is absolutely missing the whole point.

You and I MUST look for the LORD!  Don’t seek the comfort.  Don’t seek the relief.  Seek the LORD and you’ll get all these other things – the solution, the answer, the relief, the comfort, the strength and all that you need.  You look for God IN the change.

One of the greatest promises God makes us in the Bible is that God says, “I’m not going to give up on you. I’m not finished with you.”  Paul describes this in Philippians 1:6. He says, “I am sure of this: that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished until the Day of Jesus Christ.”  What God starts, He finishes in your life.

God did not bring you this far just to leave you where you are.  The story is not finished.  He says what I’ve started in your life I’m going to complete if you’ll let me do it!

“You can throw the whole weight of your anxiety on him for you are his personal concern,”   1 Peter 5:7.

In His Shadow,
~ Mary Lindow

” THE MESSENGER ” ~ Mary Lindow
 
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