His Voice

By Cheryl

January 11, 2010

Category: Uncategorized

1 Comment »

Well… here I am sitting outside my window in Villa Ana Maria in Mijas Pueblo, Spain.  The left picture is the view on a stormy day close to Christmas.  The right picture is of some of the caves we visited in the mountains.  We had a bit of a cold and rainy spell and the sun came out after class this morning and it is beautiful.  Steph, my roommate and I probably have the best view in the villa and a little platform outside our window to sit and read on or lie down and take a nap which has been done on more than one occasion.

The past week has been some orientation and introduction.  Andrew Shearman, who is one of the founders/leaders of the school and his daughter and son in law David and Rebecca Hearn have been speaking with us and sharing.

We are in agreement at the school that God is active in our lives speaking to us.  Everyone here trusts that we have heard the voice of God in our hearts – some have heard him audibly, but I am not one of those.  We are in agreement that listening to a voice in our heart and spirit is a dangerous thing… that it requires faith, that would could be wrong… that we could mess up.  However, we have also responded to these nudges, thoughts that just seem right, and have learned that it was His Spirit and that the risk was worth it.  I know I can name a few foundational times in my life that I responded to a call from God that made no sense… I don’t know where I would be had I not listened to that.  The first one would definitely be, if I’m going to lay it all out, breaking up with a high school boyfriend.  If I had shut my ears to the voice of God in that situation… well I don’t know what would have been, all I know is that it was God and it was GOOD.  Everytime I take a risk, big or small, out of wanting and being prepared to act in obedience to God, I usually come out with a better ear, a better heart for that voice.  It’s wierd trying to explain this, now I know how Andrew feels trying to explain it to us… however, at the same time everyone seems to get it, to understand and agree with it.

The voice of God… it’s so biblical, yet so hard to grasp.  Always talked about in Isaiah, Jesus refers to it… if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts… DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.  I think that for me means, if you hear his voice… DON’T LET DOUBT QUENCH THE SPIRIT AND IGNORE IT.   I think that’s a good definition of a hardened heart.

Anyways, I actually wanted to write this blog to share a story from Andrew’s life that has had me most encouraged and desiring for more of God.  He wasn’t even going to share it initially, one of the other interns had heard it and asked him to share it.  Andrew had been on a plane, and I believe he said he was coming out of a season of rest and intimacy with God.  He sat next to a man who a few minutes later asked him :  “What is that?”  Andrew didn’t know what that meant so said “Excuse me?” -  “What is that?  Something’s coming off you” – “Excuse me?”  again.  The man says something like, “the hair on the back of my neck is sticking up and it’s you… something’s coming off you”  Well… I can’t really tell the rest of the story as well as Andrew can, since it is his story, but he ends up realizing that it was Christ, the Holy Spirit in him that this man was physically feeling and obviously he explains it to him.  The normal, average business man next to him was in tears after awhile and ending up requesting to have what Andrew had… the random stranger is now a believer in our beautiful Christ and it all happened on an airplane.

All I could think of to that was… yeah… I want that too.  Not because it’s just a cool and awesome story, but because a hurting and lost and hopeless soul, maybe he was someone who didn’t even know that he was those things, it doesn’t matter.  This soul found love, found purpose and found HOPE, because someone had a hunger and had the discipline to be in the presence, to risk his live, to give his life to the Living God.  I want that.  I have faith for that.  I am going to give my life for that.

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