Daily Devotion for June 26th: Where have you seen resurrection, new life or hope?

from Redeemer Member Heather C. Russell

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

I Kings: 19: 11 – 13

There is a TV show entitled “The Voice” in which vocal artists who have already “made it” in their careers, act as judges, sitting in rotating chairs turned away from a new artist on stage who is trying to make an impression on the judges with his or her voice. The judges cannot see the singer; they can only hear his or her voice. The judges push a button to turn their chairs around only IF the voice they hear truly resonates with them and touches a chord within them.

When we listen to the right voices in our lives, good decisions are made; when we do not listen at all or listen to the wrong voices, not so good decisions are made which can result in serious consequences in our lives. Sarah Ban Breathnach in her devotional Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy (1997), calls these poor choices, “coma choices.” She has observed for herself, “When I excavated my pattern of choice making, I was dumbfounded to discover that the one constant in the wrong ones I made was that I made them when I was physically and emotionally exhausted and couldn’t think clearly. Good choices were made when I was fully awake and engaged, and the synapses were connecting. And the bad choices? I was in a coma, worn down by crisis, commotion, confusion, and chaos.”

In one of his sermons, Pastor Emeritus Robert Sims described voices from “cellar people” which are our own negative voices in our head or voices from others who discourage, hurt, or cause pain with their words. Pastor Sims encouraged the congregation to listen to the voices of “balcony people” who uplift and encourage others and ourselves and to be “balcony people” for others in our lives.

There are many voices out in the world and inside our own heads, so we have to get quiet and listen to the voices who belong to God’s angels on earth who have our best interest at heart, to our own wiser voice within us which comes from God, and God’s voice as we read the Bible and as we get very quiet and listen to what He has to say as we expect answers to our prayers to Him. We can know it is God’s voice when we feel calm with a decision, as well as when God agitates us into actions that He wants us to take. After the agitation phase, we have a sense of calm followed by the strength to continue God’s course of action.

So we may be asked by our Lord as Elijah was asked, “So what are you doing here, Elijah/Heather/any of us?” which may possibly be translated as, “So are you ready to do MY will and do the Divine assignments I have for you?” OR “Are you ready to accept your marching orders?” OR “Are you ready to finally listen to Me?”

Dear Lord, Help me to tune in to Your voice. Amem.

Would you consider writing a devotion? If so, contact Karen Medford, kmedford@redeemer.org for more information.

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Daily Devotion for June 26th: Where have you seen resurrection, new life or hope?

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