BeyondSeeLevel

There are times I’m privileged to see my children off to school in the mornings. My oldest daughter catches the school bus. However, because of my work schedule, sometimes, my child care provider comes to pick my little up in the mornings.

As I await the van’s arrival, I sit in my living room. But as I sit in my living room waiting, I’m listening to the television in my bedroom. I was waiting on the van, but I was listening to the television in the next room. In addition to the sounds coming from the television, my oldest daughter always turns on her radio in the mornings.

Well, one particular morning, I waited & waited–no van. After about 20 minutes or so, I decided to give them a call. The director answered and said he came & blew his horn several times. But I heard nothing. Although, I was positioned in the living room waiting for his arrival, I didn’t hear him. Anyway, thankfully, he’s only a few minutes away and came back to get her.

Now, I sit right by my front door & listen for the horn. My television is still on & my daughter’s radio is still playing, but I don’t focus on those noises. I focus on listening for the van’s arrival. And I hear it loud and clear in spite of the other noises around me.

I thought about the voice of God. Very often, we position ourselves to hear Him, but because of the noises surrounding us, we don’t hear Him when He speaks. Why? We’re anticipating His voice. We’re waiting to hear from Him. Why is it that when He speaks to us, we don’t hear Him?

Just like I was in the living room waiting for the van, my attention and focus was somewhere else. Where is your focus? Where is your attention? You can actually be in the right place, at the right time & still be marked absent because you didn‘t raise your hand when your name was called. Why? Because you weren’t listening. Anticipating to hear the voice of God requires more than your attendance; more than your presence. It even requires more than your good intentions to hear Him. You have to pay attention & focus on what you’re waiting for.

We know that Satan is the master of distractions. He doesn’t want you to hear the voice of God. If he doesn’t succeed with the distractions, believe that he will attempt to take away your hearing. Sometimes, you have to relocate to a quieter location in order to hear what you need to hear from the Lord. Turn down all the noises. Unplug the television. Turn off the radio. Turn the ringer off. Put your preconceived ideas & opinions on the back burner. Seek a conviction instead of a co-sign. You won’t be able to hear Him if your mouth is constantly yapping anyway. Neither will you be able to hear Him if you think you already know. Listen for God! Listen to God!

When you pay attention to someone, you can easily hear them even when you’re surrounded by other noises & other voices. You will not hear the voice of God if you’re listening to everybody & everything else. This includes self. You will not hear His voice if you are not intentionally focused on hearing His voice. You have to pay attention to what you’re waiting for. Otherwise, it will come and go & you wouldn’t have even known it. And not always, will it come back and blow a second time.

*Tressa Jo

Sunday morning, I was all up in my flesh. I didn’t want to go to church. Being my extroverted self, I just wanted to be disconnected & un-engaged. I didn’t consider not going. However, I did consider visiting another church. I didn’t want to have to be sociable beyond the surface. Just say “hi” and keep it moving. I didn’t want to be around anybody familiar. But of course, I went anyway. It’s crazy cause I didn’t want to be social, but at the same time, I didn’t want to go a Sunday without seeing my church family. I needed the hugs. I needed to smiles. I needed to be around them. Plus, I didn’t want my little one to miss out on her bible class and children’s worship. She loves attending them. So, I denied what I was feeling and started praying for myself. I asked God to forgive me for being all up in my flesh and not focusing on things above. Then I expressed that I needed a word from Him today. I needed God to minister to my life. Thing is, I didn’t know what I specifically needed. But I trusted that He did. So there I was in Sunday school being intentional in my learning. I asked God to give me something. I’d be foolish to sit idle, disconnected in the assembly and not be watchful for what He had for me. The lesson was awesome! I felt quickened in my spirit. Then I move on to worship. My flesh was still trying to block me, but I was determined to worship God. I was on the stage. God was in the audience. I had to close my eyes to stay focused. But I stayed focused & connected. The praise leaders sang a song that invited the Holy Spirit in. I sang and invited the Holy Spirit in. He was welcomed here.
I know this struggle isn’t foreign to many. The flesh is a beast and doesn’t want us to position ourselves to receive the spiritual blessings of God. And it uses life against us in this endeavor. But it also uses ‘us’ against us. Sometimes, it’s just too much of us in the way to receive the spiritual blessings of God. This is why self-denial is so important for the child of God. As long as you are wrapped up in human flesh, there will be a part of you that wars against & resists the spirit in you and constantly tries to disconnect you from the presence of God. We have to be very intentional in our worship and in our relationship with God. Otherwise, we can find ourselves assemblers, but not worshipers.

#Self-denial
#Purpose
#Expectation
#Humility
#Repentance

Praise & Worship
Praise is about God. Worship is to God.
Praise is opening up. Worship is entering in.
Praise is boldly declaring. Worship is humbly bowing in the presence of the Holy God.
Praise applauds what God has done & is doing. Worship honors God for Who His is.

*tj

Sometimes, our biggest defeat is not disappointment. But our biggest defeat is expectation. You can’t draw water out of empty wells, no matter how much you try. God provides the well and He provides the water. We all have a well that we would prefer to drink from.  But our preference isn’t where the power is. The power is in God’s provisions. If your preference is dry, that’s not the one. Trust the well God provides. That’s where the power is.

*tj