Isaiah 50:4, "The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. NKJV
It seems that receiving a letter through the postal service has just about become a thing of the past. I can remember, as a very young child looking forward to seeing a letter from a relative, or friend. Methods of communicating sure have changed over the past 40 years.
In the past decade, emails have just exploded onto the world's scene as a new way of staying in touch with family and friends around the world. I've heard people say it's free communication, but I've never paid $55.00 a month for stamps before. More recently, we've witnessed a new wave of communication exploding on the worldwide web called social networking sites... both Christian and secular. Now people are finding old friends from high school, college, seminary, or past churches they have attended together. It's interesting to watch people's comments posted on their "page" when they find someone they haven't heard from in years.
Even though we all have friends and relatives that we're reconnecting with, it can't come close to hearing a Word from the very One who gave His life for our sin debt. The Lord God communicated with Adam in the Garden of Eden, and walked with him in the cool of the day. One day the Lord came to Adam, but this time He knew that something dreadful had happened. The connection that God had with man had become interrupted by sin. You can hear the separation in His voice as He asked, "Adam where are you?"
Adam wasn't so well hidden among the trees in the garden that God Himself couldn't find him; God was speaking to Adam relationally. Where is the open line of dialogue we once enjoyed? Has something come between us?
We can read the Old Testament and see how God desired to communicate with man once again, but sin and rebellion wouldn't allow Him to address man directly. We read in Exodus that when God descended on Mount Sinai, the thundering, lightning, and mountain shaking under the power of God made Israel very afraid. They rejected the voice of God; they told Moses to speak with God, and then tell them what He said. From then on, you can read how God spoke through the prophets of old with a very common phrase, "Thus saith the Lord."
Reconnecting with old friends can be encouraging, as well as helpful at times. However, God has a way of connecting with His people in an area of our hearts that even man can't.
1 Corinthians 2:10-12, But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. NKJV
The Holy Spirit knows where you are at all times, and He also knows what you need at the very time you need a word of direction from the heavenly Father. He will only communicate to us according to the will of God for our lives. Sometimes, if you're like me, you can doubt His voice, and dismiss it as a thought, or an impulse of your own mind. At any rate, the Lord still loves to keep an open line of communication with His beloved children. If we read Ephesians 4, Jesus tells us that He has set the five-fold ministry over the church. He gives us the ability to communicate what the Holy Spirit is saying to the church, both on an individual basis, as well as corporately. So don't be surprised if one day God uses one of these devotions to read your mail to you... through little ole me.
One day in the early 90's, as I was walking through the living room... out of nowhere... God spoke to me, and told me to go read Isaiah 50. Before that day, I doubt that I had ever read that chapter in my life. As I obeyed the voice of God, He caused verse 4 to leap off of the page at me. From that day until now, I have never struggled with dyslexia... ever again! Indeed God has taught me, and I have listened; you just might be one of the benefactors of that line of communication. Until next time... perhaps I'll see you on facebook, or cross.tv, but if not, I'll be back at this same time tomorrow... giving God glory and honor for the great things He is doing, and has done.
Listening for His voice,
Pastor Asa
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