Lean In Close…Really Close – God Whispers

Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. John 13:23

Lean in close to hear God’s whispers. I listen. I’ve learned to listen. I lean in close to hear, blocking out all distractions around me. I am intentional about spending time with the Lord, to listen.

He whispers and His words engage my faith filled imagination to dream with Him during these times of intimacy. These are moments in my day that are larger than life in the natural. They are eternal moments that call to me in the now, speaking from eternity to my spirit, my true identity.

God whispers. My spiritual senses quicken to gaze into another realm. I see what can’t be seen in the natural and hear an eternal sound. There is this other realm where I live move and have my being. My natural earthly life seeks to compete and dominate the whispers of eternity. I won’t let it. I lean in close to the One who loves me. I lean upon His breast and hear His whispers, filled with life and love and mercy and goodness.

Do you lean in? Do you take time to spend time in quiet with God?

Eternity never forces itself upon my life, seeking to make itself known. God whispers and I respond. I am in Christ. I am formed to engage and live from an eternal reality. I know that my identity as a Christian is within my spirit, not my flesh. I walk out in the natural who I am in the spirit. I realize that time spent seeking the Lord is time spent knowing eternal life, knowing Jesus so that I may live in the natural in righteousness, peace and joy now.

Sensitivity in the spirit is learned as we spend time in His presence. We hear and respond to the gentle whispers of God to come apart and spend time with Him. There are divine impartations in His presence, spirit to spirit.

This is necessary. The world tries to fill deep voids within their hearts, seeking what is real and what is true. The world seeks spirituality, hungers for supernatural. Many are led astray unless the One they seek is Jesus Christ.

On the other side, religion seeks practicality, bringing it all down to information rather than revelation. It sucks the very life out of life, forming us into robots and clones that can quote words without knowing the life of the Word Himself.

So where does that leave us? Neither in the world nor in religion……in Christ.

His voice quiets my soul and increases my sensitivity. God will not compete with the noise of the world. His whispers create a realm of glory in which I am enlarged and expanded in my knowledge of Him.

God whispers. He calls. He draws. He calls me to come, to BE with Him for no other purpose that to rest and abide in His presence.

Choose moments in the busyness of your day to get away, alone with God. His life and His love stream into the fragmented places of our daily lives, pulling us back together into wholeness. It is time and busyness that tries to pull us apart.

Seek Stillness.

Seek silence.

Daily, as often as you can.

Practice His presence wherever you are in your day.

When He whispers, respond.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. John 10:27-28

Living with Passion and Purpose In Christ
Debra

Can You Hear It? It’s Time to Listen Carefully for the Sound Within a Sound

There is a sound within a sound, or above a sound or behind a sound. Listen carefully with the ears of the Spirit. Sounds can easily mask a reality that lies underneath or around them. I need spiritual ears to discern from what direction the sound comes. What is its source? What is it really sounding out? What should I really be hearing in all of it?

Moses heard a sound within a sound.

When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting noisily, he said to Moses, “That’s the sound of war in the camp!” But Moses said, Those aren’t songs of victory, and those aren’t songs of defeat, I hear songs of people throwing a party. Exodus 32:17-18 (MSG)

Do you see this? He discerned a true sound.

Jesus often said, “Hear what the Spirit is saying.”

Now is the time to listen carefully.

There is a sound above all this noise that permeates social media, the airwaves, TV, radio……….It is a sound that tries to dictate what I believe. It is a sound that distorts or completely annihilates truth in order to conform me to the image of the world.

I need to rise above all the noise to not only see from a Kingdom perspective but to hear what the Spirit of God is saying. Noise attempts to drive me off course. What course? My Kingdom path of righteousness, peace, joy, wisdom, discernment.

There are peculiar sounds out there that try to lead me astray, taking me into caves of fear or anxiety, trying to drive me onto paths of hesitation, procrastination or confusion. Don’t go there.

There is a so-called king of sound (little k) who sits on a throne, trying (and I say trying because he is defeated) to throw us off course into the path of bondage and imprisonment. He throws out fear into the wind, hoping it catches a wave to cover the earth in chaos. Oh, did I say……there is a devil. The media mocks this idea as quaint and archaic. The politically correct crowd sits with arrogance and condescension at any mention of his reality. Yet there is darkness and light. Let me say right now, light overcomes all darkness. In Christ there is light, life, hope and love.

It’s a good time to realize that spiritual warfare is real. Yet, it is essential to KNOW that we are seated in heavenly places and live IN CHRIST, victorious in every way. We fight this battle from a victorious position in Christ. But, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t keep trying to capture us in his grip. Be very careful what you believe, what you listen to, what you watch. Our spiritual senses are under attack.

Listen carefully to a heavenly sound, a higher reality that flows with revelation from a greater throne. A King of Love who speaks and all of creation responds, listens and even claps their hands.

Shout your praises to God, everybody! Let loose and sing! Strike up the band! Round up an orchestra to play for God, add on a hundred-voice choir. Feature trumpets and big trombones; fill the air with praises to King God. Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause, with everything living on earth joining in. Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!” and mountains harmonize the finale— A tribute to God when he comes, when he comes to set the earth right. He’ll straighten out the whole world; He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it. Psalms 98:4-9 (MSG)

Listen! Learn to listen carefully! How do I fine-tune my hearing? In His presence.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness. Be still and know that He is God. Spend time alone – you and Jesus.

Why are you worried? Why do you fear? What sound are you listening to?

Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice.”

God shouts and He whispers. His voice is carried on high from the heights of creation while at the same time, whispering within my life, Christ in me, the hope of glory. What a paradox. A God who shouts and whispers at the same time. His sound covers the earth in glory.

Today. This day. Learn to listen. Chaos will increase in the earth. Where is your path of clarity? How do you even find it? How do you know which way to turn?

Again I say, be still and spend time in the presence of the Lord. In this place, He calibrates and aligns your hearing to the beat of His heart. His sound will direct your steps onto a clear path. You will be led forth in wisdom and peace despite chaos all around. People around you will wonder, “Why are you joyful? What is that peace in your life?”

Learn to listen. Be slow to speak and quick to listen. Selah.

 

Living with Passion and Purpose In Christ,
Debra

About Me
Rivers of Eden Ministry

Today…….look no further!

Today, this day, is what we have. Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow but think on Him Today. He is sufficient, able, and fully complete Today.

Today does not ignore challenges and does not disregard present fears. But….Jesus has conquered death and the grave so LIVE as seated in heavenly places. Live with intention and passion!

Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes, Matthew 6:33-34

Too much worry, too much fear going around. I am not denying their reality in trying to rule our lives. And I say ‘trying’. If fear tries to get in and worry forms our default position, our lives shift into a constant state of flux, without peace, without rest. Don’t go there. I know it’s hard when we face things that seem like mountains that just won’t move but don’t go there. Give God the chance to show Himself strong on your behalf.

Jesus said not to worry and He meant it. When we project ourselves, through our thought life into the future, we create a path that is hemmed in by fear and worry. Live today with your eyes on the future but walk in His reality today, resting in the moments. Can you really change anything through fear or worry? I don’t believe you can.

It’s great to have goals. It’s wonderful to walk in our destiny one step at a time, believing for greater and greater things but don’t try to work it out. There is beauty in rest. That seems to go contrary to the grain of what many feel today but in Christ there is rest, peace and hope AND He does use it all to work all things for His glory in your life.

What’s something you can release today into His presence and live your life in Christ? For me, it’s this whole move into North Carolina. I wake up  in faith and in trust as He leads me out in my day. I spend time in His presence and seek His face and He directs my path. There’s no 10 point plan or specific rules on how to do this. It’s all about your creative life in Christ and it all starts with intimacy. Get alone for a bit. Get quiet. Worship and wait for Him to speak into your life. He will and your life will be filled with adventure.

It won’t always be safe. It’s a journey of faith. 

 

Living with Passion and Purpose In Christ,
Debra

 

 

Please share this with those needing the challenge of journey in Christ, a grand adventure in Holy Spirit that leads us beyond the borders of mundane Christianity into an ocean of grace and glory.

 

Summer in Wyoming – A time of recalibration, re-creation and re-invention

This is a summer where I’ve spent 2 months in Wyoming with my husband who had a short-term job as senior construction manager in Rawlins, WY.

God ordained this special time. I call it my summer of creation. It’s interesting as to how it developed into a transition between where we were and where we’re going.

I marvel at the beauty of Wyoming.  Sincere thanks to our friends Charlene and Johnny and their fantastic all-terrain vehicle which took us high up in the mountains to truly be immersed in silence and the beauty of God’s creation.

I stopped writing this summer as God simply said to me “This is a summer of watching, observing. Just flow with Me.” Now I am ready to BE again, to write more and to walk in the beauty and glory of Christ Jesus.

What He’s purged out of me is to be in the mix or to be in the forefront of anything. To be a bit obscure and hidden in Rawlins- small quiet town. To watch Him as He watches me and gives me this summer to recalibrate, re-invent and co-create with Him for the next part of our journey.

In Christ,
Debra

In Obscurity? Hidden For This Season? Listen, A Fresh Wind Is Blowing!

Here’s a short video worth watching before you read this blog. It’s about being in the doldrums, which is a state of inactivity or stagnation. We stand still in the water with no wind blowing against the sails. There isn’t any movement. Ever feel like that? Watch this and read on.

Here’s my personal prophetic takeaway from this video. In the midst of worship and prayer on Sunday, I wrote this in my journal.

Obscurity proves to be a welcome reward to those who are willing to be tempered by the silence!

In the midst of obscurity, it’s not easy to see that this place is a welcome reward. The accompanying silence is also part of this reward. It’s a transition in between where we were and where God is taking us. It’s a passing over, a going through, not a place we camp out to make a comfortable home.

To be tempered is to be brought to strength by the process.

It also means to be put in tune with something or someone.

Obscurity tempers, strengthens us, and puts us in tune with God.

So obscurity is a point of passing over where we settle into the silence of preparation for the next phase of life. We are getting in tune with the ONE who places us in obscurity, AND I say place because it is God who puts us in this place for a greater reward of maturity. Let’s not fight it.

How does silence temper a person?

Silence attunes the ear to hear the voice of God. The constant noise of the world is a distraction to the whisper of God. Have you noticed that God wants our undivided attention? Our Father doesn’t want to shout at us nor does He want to be just one of many ‘things to do’ on our bullet list for the day.

Silence reorients our ear to hear the direction of His voice. It is a time of turning to respond to His voice and the revelation that it brings to us. Response is important for with each revelation there comes a time to walk it out in faith in action. I heard this message in my time of Sunday silence. The action taken was to bring it as a source of encouragement to those who need to hear this today.

Silence is a door into revelation with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So many people I meet either don’t feel they hear from God while others place it as a low priority in their life. We can’t sidestep relationship. There are no short cuts. Spending times of intimacy with God allows the door to heavenly realties to be revealed to us. God is clear. His sheep hear His voice.

Silence is a time of exploration, journey, and discovery. How is that so? In the silence, we are called to ‘settle’, to breathe, and to BE. Christ in us, the hope of glory longs to reveal Himself to each of us. Do we realize how necessary this is for us today in the midst of a world of chaos and noise? Being led by the Spirit with keen discernment is the reward of spending time with the Lord in obscurity for a season and in the silence of meditation and adoration.

Silence is a time to BE. Be still and know. (Ps. 46:10) There is no excess movement, nothing pulling at you or in you to DO. Here, in this secret place of intimacy, it’s a time to listen. Everything else can wait. Trust me. Take the time in this season to be with Him.

It was in the silence of my Sunday morning that I heard His voice give me this message. How much more revelation awaits me when we take the time to be with God? The door calls me to come away each day to be with Him.

This is not a time to ask ‘why’ as I talked about in the last post. It is a time to be still and allow Holy Spirit to lead the way. The wind is not blowing and we are still in the water. Don’t fight it. Lean into the silence and you will hear the whisper of God.

In Christ,
Debra
About Me
Rivers of Eden MInistry