Priorities

“Where’s Your voice now?” Probably one of the boldest questions I’ve asked the Lord because it was with the attitude of, “You’ve talked to me before, so why choose now of all times to be silent? How dare You not help me this time?” Pretty impertinent, huh? But I learned something important. It wasn’t that He wasn’t talking. It was that I hadn’t been intentionally listening. After asking Him that question many times in the span of just a few seconds, I laid in bed curled up in the fetal position (because, you know, overwhelm) and I was silent.

I was still.

And suddenly Psalm 46:10 became so very personal. Because as I took the time to be silent and be still before Him with the deepest knowledge of how much I needed to hear from Him, I did. A verse I hadn’t heard or read in months suddenly popped into my mind. And as it did, the Holy Spirit whispered it to my aching, frustrated, and overwhelmed heart. And it was exactly what I needed to hear.

Y’all, the relief that rushed through me was immense. And the lesson I learned was important. If you feel like God isn’t talking to your weary heart, maybe the real issue is that you’re not intentionally listening for His voice. Have you been in His Word lately? And if you have, has it just been for the sake of going through the motions? That’s where I had been lately. Yesterday afternoon was the first time in a few weeks that I had read the Bible because I genuinely wanted to know what the Lord had to say and not simply because I felt I was supposed to. And I honestly don’t know if I would have been able to intentionally listen for His voice last night if I hadn’t had that intentional time in His Word earlier in the day.

So I guess the lesson here is don’t lose sight of the priority when life gets crazy. The last few weeks have been overwhelming due to circumstances outside my control. But I ignored the one most important thing I did have control over, my relationship with my Savior. Make Him a priority and then listen for the sweet sound of His voice speaking life over your heart.