Make time for the quiet moments as God whispers and the world is loud.
The Holy Spirit was issuing an invitation to me and I didn’t recognize it. Invitations are usually lovely and this one certainly was not. At that time of my life, I was ‘doing’ all the things a believer is to do. I was reading Scripture, serving the Lord, praying, my theology was right, and there was even fruit in the labor. However, the stresses in my life caused me to feel like a parched desert internally; my soul felt dead and hopeless. And that, my brothers and sisters, was the invitation. He had allowed the despair so that I would engage in ‘being’ with the Lord, not depend on the ‘doing’. I needed His Presence but I was too busy ‘doing’ to spend time with Him. I didn’t know my soul needed to be restored, hence the painful loving invitation.
My heart has heard You say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming”. Psalm 27:8 NLT
Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
So I began to spend quiet, lengthy times with God at the Spirit’s prompting. Sometimes over scripture, sometimes sitting with Him in creation, sometimes just being quiet, sometimes weeping, often laughing, and always just enjoying His Presence. And the truth of John 14:16-23 began to restore my soul and He showed Himself to me more deeply than ever before.This was the beginning of a very slow continuing journey as God’s transformative work is in my life. However, it has changed my daily walk as I want to live out what Galatians 5:25 says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” I begin each morning asking God to make me aware of His presence, to hear His promptings, to act on His nudges, to pray continually, to walk in obedience, to be grateful, to love, etc., then I rest in the Holy Spirit’s leading. At the end of the day I might ask, “Where did I see You today? What am I most thankful for? What invitations were there? Where was I most aware of Your Presence?” Perhaps it was thanking God for the beautiful sunset, sharing laughter with someone, a word of encouragement or consolation given, a door opening for further conversation, a prayer rendered for someone you know or someone you don’t know, or another nudge you responded to.
Those are lovely times of a growing awareness of His work during this nightly reflection period. These questions can also be asked anytime during the day; perhaps around the dinner table so our children can also experience this ongoing work of the Spirit and begin their own awareness journeys.
So, now the question for each of us is . . . what invitation is the Holy Spirit issuing to you?
Francie Overstreet