Listen!!!

"God, speak to me. I want to hear your voice. Give me guidance. Give me direction. I believe you want to communicate with your people. Speak to me, God."

I began repeating this prayer about six weeks ago. I'd hate to see the wax on the Q-tip God used to open up my ears. Must've been pretty nasty. But He's speaking to me now and directing me through His Word, radio stations, sermons, friends and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Many of my encounters with God in the past month have been so clearly Him, that they would fit perfectly into the plot of a cheesy Christian movie. Even now, as I think about these experiences, I have to pinch myself... make sure I'm not going to wake up from this fairytale. I'm wondering how long God has been trying to speak to me... if my ears have just been closed this whole time...

God is speaking to me. He answered my prayer, and He has revealed Himself to me more personally than ever. That's the awesome part.

Then there's the scary part. I'm not sure I want to hear what He's had to say. I feel like the crowd following Jesus when He spoke about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. "Man, this teaching is tough to accept." Most people leave when God starts this sort of crazy talk. And now I'm in a place where I'm being asked, "What? Are you gonna ditch me too?" ... ... ... "Where else could I go, Lord?" ... that should be my response. Instead, this: "But what if... ? God, have you thought about this... ? Are you sure?"

I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. (John 10:1-4)

My hesitation frustrates me... one DUMB sheep! That's me! Abraham didn't hesitate. God saw his faith and chalked one up for righteousness.

God, increase our trust in you each day. Thank you for going on ahead of us. Thank you for speaking to us. Open our ears that we may hear you. Strengthen our will that we may follow you. Amen.