Listen!

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy. Listen to Him." (Matthew 17:5, NLT)

I was going through my journals and found this entry from January, 2008. My girls were three and four years old at the time. They were such cute toddlers but thankfully, there are no more fights about soap!

Enjoy this flash from the past!

I was giving my girls a shower today. When I wash their hair, I give each of them a little cup of suds from their shampoo to play with. I washed Grace's hair first but forgot to give her suds. As I was washing Mikea's hair, Grace remembered her suds but all the soap had already been rinsed from her hair so I said, "I'll give you soap from Mikea's hair after I wash it." 

Mikea told Grace (under her breath) "This is MY soap." Grace cried out to me "I want some soap!" I said, "I'll give you some soap after I'm done washing Mikea's hair" Mikea was standing in between me and Grace, again Mikea said, (under her breath and in a mean, low tone of voice) "This IS MY soap" Again, Grace cried out and looked up to me, getting a little desperate. She started to cry because she knew I had promised her soap but she was upset that she hadn't received her soap. Gracie said, "I want some soap!!" At this point things accelerated and at the same time Mikea was yelling, "THIS IS MY SOAP!" Grace was looking up to me and screaming, "I WANT SOME SOAP!!"

In a calm voice, I kept repeating to Grace, "Listen to me. Listen to me. Listen to me." I was not concerned w/ discipling Mikea at the time. No, I was concerned that my child listened to what I had promised.

God spoke to my heart and said, "This is the same battle I watch some of my kids fight. Satan lies to them over and over and gets louder and louder. But all my children have to do is listen to me."

Listen to that voice of truth! Listen to His promises! All God's promises are right in His Word. He's already done everything He has to do in order for us to obtain all His promises, listen to Him and receive.  He is the maker of the universe and you!  Trust Him.

"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."   (John 8:44, NIV)

God's Word plainly tells us the devil is a liar and there is no truth in him.  And he speaks from his own resources.  Consider God's resources!  (Philippians 4:19, Psalm 35:27, Psalm 50:10-12) Everything is His, and He is your Father!  The next time the devil tries to lie to you and tell you that you cannot have something God has already promised you, make the decision to listen to God, our Father!

Father, I pray for every reader today. In the name of Jesus, I declare they immediately recognize and ignore lies and hold fast to Your truth. As they submit their spirit to Your Holy Spirit, I pray they take every thought captive and mediate only on that which is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, whatever is admirable, and everything that is praiseworthy. I pray they meditate on all the good in their lives and none of the negatives they struggle with. I pray they praise and thank You for all the goodness in their lives. I thank You in advance that as they mediate on You and Your Word, the fruit in their lives shine their light so all man sees and glorifies You! Thank You for never lying to us! Thank You for loving us so deeply and for giving us Your promises through Your life changing Word! We love You Lord. We worship and adore You! Thank You for You and thank You for Your Son, King Jesus! 

John 3:16

Hebrews 6:18

John 14:14

2 Corinthians 1:20

2 Corinthians 10:5

Matthew 5:16

Philippians 4:8

If only I had Listened...

But He said, “ More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
(Luke 11:28, NKJV)

Last Friday my oldest child, Cortni, came for a weekend visit. We hadn't seen each other for over six weeks because I was on the mainland for a month and then on Kauai for two weeks. For us, six weeks is a very long time. We were really looking forward to our visit.

I was tired and preoccupied from flying alone with my youngest two girls, working off island, etc. Once we landed, instead of coming home, I went into town to run errands which only increased the fatigue and preoccupation.

Once Cortni arrived, we took my dog for a walk. I was wearing a pair of worn out flip flops. They were a little hard to walk in because the toe part was stretched out. God said, "Change your shoes." it wasn't an audible voice. More of a "sensing", a leading of the Holy Spirit to change my shoes. I thought, "My walking shoes are packed, the dog is already on the leash, and Cortni is already waiting for me outside."

Yes, I walked out the door failing to heed God's voice.

About 20 minutes into our walk, I "heard" God again say, "Go change your shoes." Again, I reasoned/whined, "We aren't going to walk long. I'd have to go all the way back home to change shoes. Why do I need to change shoes anyway...their just shoes!"

I didn't really intend to be outright disobedient to God, I wasn't breaking one of the ten commandments! I wasn't arguing with God. It was more of a ever so slightly prodding that I ignored.

Cortni and I were both tired from the week's events and didn't intend to walk long but it took longer for us to catch up than we thought so we kept walking...and walking...and walking. We ended up walking for several hours.

I was too tired and too preoccupied to stop long enough to do one simple thing, simply obey the gentle prompting of the Holy Spirit. Sadly, my reasoning and excuses completely drowned out His voice.

Later that night, it occurred to me why God had told me to change shoes. My ankles and knees were aching so badly, it took several hours to go to sleep. Having to pinch the shoes with my toes to keep them on while I walked had tweaked my ankles. The next morning, I could hardly walk.

We hosted a party on Sunday. Instead of enjoying our guests, I was in a lot of pain. I also had a photo shoot, which was done...in pain.

Simple math: Failure to listen = PAIN!

Today is Monday, I'm currently laying on the couch with taped ankles doing the ice-heat-ice-heat routine.

As I sat here wishing I were walking the beach waiting for the sun to set instead of laying on my couch with my ice pack and heating pad, I thought, "If only I had listened..."

As soon as that thought popped into my head, this one followed, "How many times have I thought, if only I had listened..."

God is always with us. (Hebrews 13:5)
He tells us what we don't know. (Jeremiah 33:3)
He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7)

Since God cared enough about the shoes I was wearing, how much more does He care about the more significant and more permanent areas of our lives?

Who we seek counsel from. (Psalm 1:1)
Who we marry. (Matthew 19:6)
Who our friends are. (Proverbs 13:20)

What could have been a three minute task has turned into a three day task. All I had to do was dig my shoes out of my suitcase but instead, through disobedience, I am dealing with taped ankles and the ice-heat-ice-heat routine. In other words, PAIN!

GRRRRRR!

Lessons learned:

When He speaks to me about change, just shut up, and change. (James 1:22)
Hear, listen, then immediately do. (John 10:27)
Changing from my ways to His ways result in being blessed. (Luke 11:28)

My prayer for every reader today is to hear and do!