Do you ever get reminded of the “still, small voice?” That is, do you ever recall, suddenly, that there was that fleeting thought, that hunch, that mental image that popped when something was happening? Then you’re reminded that it happened later. . .usually when things didn’t go like you had expected or hoped?
It happened to me today. We have some shelves in our cabinets that are juuuuuussssssttttt a little too short from side to side. We’ve fixed one already by extending it. The other day I realized that another one was too short when I caught it from falling. Today, I was working on it and decided I would just take everything off the shelf and put all of them shelf hangers back in “real nice”. . .mostly because the “hold up the shelf and stuff the hanger back in” method was not working well as I’d put one hanger in and another would fall back out. So, today I took everything off the shelf, took the shelf out, started putting all the hangers back in (they had all fallen out), nice and neat, to where I thought the shelf had been (there are columns of holes for the hangers to fit in). As I did so, I remember this flash of a thought to make sure that it’s the right height. Well it “looked” right so it must be right. Right? I finish putting all the hangers in. I put the shelf back in and make sure it’s centered just right so that I can make sure it fits until we can perform our “woodworking miracle” like we did for the other shelf. Then I put everything nice and neat back on the shelf and go to close the cabinet doors. . .only one doesn’t close. I turn to look at the one that won’t close and realize that the height was, in fact, NOT right. . .there is a plastic bag holder on one of the doors (the one that won’t close) that keeps the door from closing because, you guessed it, the shelf was not at the right height.
And then. . .flashback to the thought. . .I’m reminded of the Still, Small Voice.
I realize that God was trying to tell me, “hey, that’s not the right height. Move it up.” I missed it.
It’s not the first time that this has happened. I have these flashes of a thought happen regularly. The morning seems to be a particularly good time for me to have ideas and thoughts that I can only attribute to God’s voice. I’ve had reminders of things that I need to do. I’ve had ideas for business methods and tactics. I’ve had ideas for things to write. I’ve had impressions of His love for me. You name it.
When I realize that they have happened and I missed it, it’s not an “I told you so” moment. It’s a teachable one. It’s a, “Josh, that was Me talking to you. I want you to recognize My voice when I’m talking.”
It’s much easier to learn the voice of God as you’re doing the simple, low stress things of life. In the high-anxiety moments, there are usually distractions that try to take your focus.
To be clear, it’s not always that I’m only reminded of the still small voice when I’ve missed it. I’m also reminded of when I am paying attention to it and I write it down or I act on it and things go the way that’s best or the idea works. Then I’m reminded that God is active regularly in my life and He cares about me personally.
So, learn to hear God in the simple times so you can know it in the hard times. He loves each of us and wants a personal relationship with each of us.
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