Early this morning I sat out on my backyard deck with a cup of coffee and the morning devotions, thanking God for the beauty and abundance of His creation, given to His people as a gift as gracious as salvation itself through His Son Jesus Christ. When I finished the first devotion I glanced at the surrounding trees and reveled in the refreshing breeze that was blowing through the leaves. Every time I feel a breeze I am reminded of the Holy Spirit as the Hebrew word for wind is ruach which is also translated into English as breath or spirit. Therefore, whenever the wind blows, I am reminded of the very breath of life that was breathed into the crown of creation by the Father and His Spirit which comes and goes according to His will, without any need of our consent or approval as well as where we go in life, according to the will of the Father.
John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. (ESV)(NASB)
The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit. (Jerusalem Bible)
As we travel through this life, one of the things that we Christians desire more than anything is seemingly one of the most difficult things to accomplish; to hear, recognize and follow the voice and direction of the Lord.
When the prophet Elijah had had enough of Queen Jezebel's threats, he fled to the mountains south of Israel and asked the Lord to take him out of the world. He claimed he had been faithful, even jealous for the Lord and all it had achieved was what he thought was the death of all believers accept him and he did not want to be the only one left. In addition, he had no clue as to what purpose his life would serve at that point anyway. He wanted to hear God's voice.
I Kings 19:9-13
There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away." And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (ESV)
And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. (vs. 12 NASB)
After the earthquake came a fire. But Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. (vs. 12 Jerusalem Bible)
[Just as an aside, everywhere you find LORD in the ESV and NASB the original Hebrew has the tetragrammaton YHWH which is the name of God, pronounced Yahweh. Ancient Jewish tradition forbade the utterance of the sacred name of God therefore whenever the Scripture had YHWH the word adonai was spoken which in English is "LORD" often printed in all capital letters to signify being in the place of YHWH.]
The Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, also has "a gentle breeze" for that in which Elijah hears the voice of Yahweh. He did not hear Yahweh boom in the great wind, earthquake or fire. When all quieted to silence, Elijah heard Yahweh speak in the "sound of a gentle breeze" or "sound of a low whisper."
Every time I am out by myself in the early morning sunrise, when the breeze is blowing, I am reminded of this story about Elijah and of the account in the third chapter of the Gospel of John, where God encourages us to silence our lives and our spirits so we may hear, recognize and follow His voice. This place of silence is found in the eye of our heart, in the nous, where God dwells in His people and speaks gently and lovingly to us.
Almighty God, in this hour of quiet I seek communion with Thee. From the fret and fever of the day's business, from the world's discordant noises, from the praise and blame of men, from the confused thoughts and vain imaginations of my own heart, I would now turn aside and seek the quietness of Thy presence. All day long have I toiled and striven; but now, in stillness of heart and in the clear light of Thine eternity, I would ponder the pattern my life has been weaving.
May there fall upon me now, O God, a great sense of Thy power and Thy glory, so that I may see all earthly things in their true measure.
Let me not be ignorant of this great thing, that one day is with Thee as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
Give me now such understanding of Thy perfect holiness as will make an end of all pride in my own attainment.
Grant unto me now such a vision of Thine uncreated beauty as will make me dissatisfied with all lesser beauties.
Though earth and man were gone,
And suns and universes cease to be,
And Thou wert left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
I am content, O Father, to leave my life in Thy hands, believing that the very hairs upon my head are numbered by Thee. I am content to give over my will to Thy control, believing that i can find in Thee a righteousness that I could never have won for myself. I am content to leave all my dear ones to Thy care, believing that Thy love for them is greater than my own. I am content to leave in Thy hands the causes of truth and of justice, and the coming of Thy Kingdom in the hearts of men, believing that my ardour for them is but a feeble shadow of Thy purpose. To Thee, O God, be glory forever and ever. Amen.
(a prayer for the fifth day of the month from "A Diary of Private Prayer" by John Baille)
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. (ESV)(NASB)
The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit. (Jerusalem Bible)
As we travel through this life, one of the things that we Christians desire more than anything is seemingly one of the most difficult things to accomplish; to hear, recognize and follow the voice and direction of the Lord.
When the prophet Elijah had had enough of Queen Jezebel's threats, he fled to the mountains south of Israel and asked the Lord to take him out of the world. He claimed he had been faithful, even jealous for the Lord and all it had achieved was what he thought was the death of all believers accept him and he did not want to be the only one left. In addition, he had no clue as to what purpose his life would serve at that point anyway. He wanted to hear God's voice.
I Kings 19:9-13
There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away." And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (ESV)
And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. (vs. 12 NASB)
After the earthquake came a fire. But Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. (vs. 12 Jerusalem Bible)
[Just as an aside, everywhere you find LORD in the ESV and NASB the original Hebrew has the tetragrammaton YHWH which is the name of God, pronounced Yahweh. Ancient Jewish tradition forbade the utterance of the sacred name of God therefore whenever the Scripture had YHWH the word adonai was spoken which in English is "LORD" often printed in all capital letters to signify being in the place of YHWH.]
The Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, also has "a gentle breeze" for that in which Elijah hears the voice of Yahweh. He did not hear Yahweh boom in the great wind, earthquake or fire. When all quieted to silence, Elijah heard Yahweh speak in the "sound of a gentle breeze" or "sound of a low whisper."
Every time I am out by myself in the early morning sunrise, when the breeze is blowing, I am reminded of this story about Elijah and of the account in the third chapter of the Gospel of John, where God encourages us to silence our lives and our spirits so we may hear, recognize and follow His voice. This place of silence is found in the eye of our heart, in the nous, where God dwells in His people and speaks gently and lovingly to us.
Almighty God, in this hour of quiet I seek communion with Thee. From the fret and fever of the day's business, from the world's discordant noises, from the praise and blame of men, from the confused thoughts and vain imaginations of my own heart, I would now turn aside and seek the quietness of Thy presence. All day long have I toiled and striven; but now, in stillness of heart and in the clear light of Thine eternity, I would ponder the pattern my life has been weaving.
May there fall upon me now, O God, a great sense of Thy power and Thy glory, so that I may see all earthly things in their true measure.
Let me not be ignorant of this great thing, that one day is with Thee as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
Give me now such understanding of Thy perfect holiness as will make an end of all pride in my own attainment.
Grant unto me now such a vision of Thine uncreated beauty as will make me dissatisfied with all lesser beauties.
Though earth and man were gone,
And suns and universes cease to be,
And Thou wert left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
I am content, O Father, to leave my life in Thy hands, believing that the very hairs upon my head are numbered by Thee. I am content to give over my will to Thy control, believing that i can find in Thee a righteousness that I could never have won for myself. I am content to leave all my dear ones to Thy care, believing that Thy love for them is greater than my own. I am content to leave in Thy hands the causes of truth and of justice, and the coming of Thy Kingdom in the hearts of men, believing that my ardour for them is but a feeble shadow of Thy purpose. To Thee, O God, be glory forever and ever. Amen.
(a prayer for the fifth day of the month from "A Diary of Private Prayer" by John Baille)
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I really enjoyed this post. I know that in my own life, and my own walk of faith, that finding those quiet, peaceful moments is so difficult -- nearly impossible, really. I do know how important it is to take the time to connect with my "nous"... I just never feel like there are enough hours in the day.
ReplyDeleteSo, thank you for reminding me of how important this is... Even as I live out God's calling for me of being a wife and mother (which, we all know leaves little time to myself), I know that I must make that time to also be a child of God, being led by the Spirit to cultivate the habit of being still and knowing that He is God (Psalm 46:10).
As we learn how to make time to be a child of God and keep that quiet time with God we become better at whatever calling God has for us.
ReplyDelete