The Still, Small Voice

"Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory." - Psalms 73:23-24

Have you ever had a problem that just baffles you? You know there is something wrong and no matter what you do, you just can't figure out how to fix it or where to turn. And then, in an instant, you pursue a totally different path and things just start easily falling into place. You experience a sense of peace and you think, "Man, I am so smart. I am so glad I followed my intuition, my gut feeling was so right." You give yourself a little pat on the back.

Are we giving credit where credit is due? Have we miraculously gained intelligence? Or is something else at play here, something outside of us?

I had this experience a few months ago. Kate was exceptionally irritable and disobedient, and we felt like we had tried everything. We had taken away toys, yelled, taken away story time, stripped her room, spanked her bottom, put her in timeout, threatened to pull her out of her favorite activities. Nothing seemed to make an impression. She would be sad, and then she would do it again. One day, when I was about to flip my lid, a little thought popped into my head.


"What about positive reinforcement?"

What? Where did that come from? It was so completely opposite of my frame of mind, it literally stopped me in my tracks. I was in the process of going up the stairs to strip her room for the umpteenth time, and I turned around, picked up my crying, angry, upset three year old, put her in my lap and hugged her until we both calmed down. And that was the turning of a page.

I think these moments of divine intervention come from us being at our wit's end, knowing we can't keep following the current path. If we see our little ones about to fall, we reach down and grab them, pulling them out of danger. God sees us struggling and reaches out, giving us guidance, comfort, peace or passion. The Amy Grant song, "Better Than a Hallelujah," illustrates this so well, "We pour out our miseries, God just hears a melody. Beautiful, the mess we are, the honest cries of breaking hearts are better than a hallelujah." God hears these cries and helps us through these low times.

Be vigilant. The words that you hear in the midst of the chatter of life can be coming from you, your friends, or maybe "experts." Your thoughts could be influenced by negativity, which comes from Satan, or they could be positive, which obviously comes from God. We sometimes overlook or overthink these little flashes of wisdom, or we ignore them and give in to our temper. Listen for that still, small voice.

My Aunt Sallie, who is an amazing woman, mother, and minister, takes opportunities to "unplug." She has a busy life with an active church, six children ranging in age from 25 to 4, and a heart split on two continents, one-half in her community and one-half in Burundi. She deserves downtime, don't we all! She will take a cup of tea, go to a quiet bench in the park, leave her phone in the car, and just be. She doesn't really think about things, she just is. This time for herself is time alone with God.

Maybe you can't take an hour, maybe you can only take five minutes. Be still yourself, clear thoughts of daily responsibilities, feelings of guilt or negativity away, and just listen.

Habakkuk 2:1 says, "I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint."

How does God speak to you? Is it a sudden thought? Do you hear actual words or just feel compelled into action?

Dear God, we thank You for Your guidance and for hearing our cries. Please help us follow You and thank You for the many blessings that we have been given. In Your Holy Name we pray, amen.