Listen, then respond

Proverbs 22:7 The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

I have been asked many times, how do I study my Bible? Let me give you an incredible example from this morning, of how, and where, and Who to follow to read God’s Word.

I am under great stress right now, especially related to our business, and the finances of it, which naturally spill over into personal strains with them. I am in a season of selling things, for many reasons, but my debtors always loom, and I am responsible for multiple families well being; it is a stress that killed my grandfather, at the exact age I am now, I pray the Lord has different plans for me. This morning I felt the Lord tugging me to spend time with him, and the battle of the mind towards the anxieties of work began very early. I posted Colossians 3:1 So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. 2 Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ – that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. (MSG) My mind continued to be torn, but I felt the Lord calling me to his Word.

As I drove Dalton to school, I felt the tug I was supposed to write this morning, and God had opened that door with the rain and solitude. As I kept thinking, the Spirit within me reminded me of that Proverbs passage above; it seemed a natural place to go with the reason for my stress (how God works/Romans 8:28). My mind kept going, and I thought of how to communicate it; maybe a life lesson for our youth. I thought of Proverbs being such lessons, and in my case, what would I say? I would tell my boys of my biggest mistakes, the first being drugs, and the next buying things I could not afford. I literally put debt next in line to drugs, for the stress it has put on me for over 30 years is as physically damaging as drugs did for almost the same. That seemed to be a natural way to go with today’s 1MM. I found the Proverb, opened my Bible, and I was floored at how God had worked this morning. The passage already highlighted above it was verse 6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. It was just another example of how intimate my God is; how the Creator of the universe seeks a relationship with me; how he will do the exact same for you.

Do you see the how and the where is central around the Who? Do you see if you will listen to that still small voice inside of you, that it will become clear? Whispers from the Holy Spirit require attention, require action, require a mind that is listening for them through their heart. You likely have heard them, maybe responded to them, sadly denied them, and many times avoided their warnings. My pastor once told me, “That little voice inside your gut is the Holy Spirit pal.” There is great truth in that simple statement. Do you really want to know God, want to experience more of God? Do you really want to live for the next life, and try to just get through this one, or are you focused on all you can get from here, not worried about what comes next? He is inside of you, talking to you, do your best to listen and act upon what He says. Do not delay, for he may not tell you again.