The results of hearing God

 

A few weeks ago a woman came a bit late to our church and took a seat on the end of the row in front of us. The congregation was singing, but she was sobbing uncontrollably. To my eye, she appeared devastated by loss and overwhelmed by sorrow. The Lord prompted me to step forward and go to her. As I put my arm around her, she leaned into me and continued to sob. She only said one thing: “He is so beautiful.”

I had no idea who or what she was talking about. A lost child? A broken relationship? Bad news of some sort? As the song neared the end, she settled and nodded when I asked if she was okay. I returned to my seat. After the service, we invited her to sit with us at brunch (a weekly event at our church) and she told us that her tears came when she realized the beauty of Jesus and was overwhelmed with joy.

This reason never entered my mind, yet now I understand the transparency of her response. As today’s reading says, to some the revealing of the Lord comes as a mighty and overwhelming power, yet to others He comes as the tender and gentle presence of love. Either way, He always makes His presence manifest and real to those who experience it. Jesus described it and the certainty of this wonderful gift, even though many would be too self-conscious to allow this revelation to affect them so deeply in a public place full of strangers. But as He said…

In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. (John 14:20)

I was deeply impressed by this woman and her response to meeting Jesus. It was not the first time. She told us of her faith and how God revealed Himself and His will to her. Today’s devotional says we may have believed certain things before because God says it in the Scriptures, but when He gives it to us with the testimony of an inward consciousness, it becomes ours — totally unassailable by any form of questioning or doubt.

Our son told us that God was revealing much to him about the source and extent of evil in this world. He added, “I couldn’t see it before, but now I do and sometimes I wish I could un-see it.” In other words, when what God says is heard, it sticks. Not that we don’t have lapses. Our spiritual enemies (principalities and powers in heavenly places) make many efforts to rip truth from our minds and plunge us into darkness, yet that light from the Lord cannot be extinguished.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1–5)

In the OT stories, the Israelis believed the Lord was in their midst during their wanderings and in their years of bondage, even when no sign of His presence was seen among them. After they settled and Solomon built the temple, Solomon prayed: “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!” (2 Chronicles 6:18)

I can relate to Solomon’s prayer: How can God be in my life? Yet “As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” (2 Chronicles 7:1) At once, without the need of any command from Solomon, the people bowed themselves with their faces to the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord. In the midst of whatever happened, they knew He never abandoned them.

PRAY: Lord, Solomon’s prayers and requests affirmed faith and You answer me just as You answered Solomon, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.” (2 Chronicles 7:12) The sacrifice part is as real as the understanding that You are with me, even when all seems dark. If I did not know your presence, I would fight or flee the discomfort and pain sacrifices bring. However, hearing You makes a difference. Your voice helps me accept that Your plan involves death to self and giving up my desires. Your voice also reveals Your plans. Not only that, when I hear You, I know You are standing very close to me!