Whisper

I have come to a new understanding why being still is imperative to hearing from the LORD.  

Enter Jake and Owen and their momma, Faith, and Eric, the dad.  I have the blessing of caring for Jake and Owen a few hours every week.  Jake is a special needs little guy, with autism and Owen is too much for words: how these little guys have captured my heart.  

Faith with Jake :-)
*Melts my heart*

Over the past few months I have grown to admire and respect Faith and Eric both in their beautiful marriage and in their parenting.  Faith and Eric exemplify to me some very rare and very noteworthy parenting skills.  A few weeks ago as I observed Faith correcting one of the boys, I noted how gentle, yet firmly and quietly she disciplined her little boy;  I also noted how quickly he yielded - and he is only two!  

Afterwards I commented upon her actions with O; she shared with me she had learned whispering from her gentle husband, Eric.  She said it worked a lot better than raising her voice, with a loud scolding or rebuke.  The quieter she spoke, the more intently they listened: I took note!  I even got to use it the very next day as I volunteered in our church's nursery; a two-year-old showed me he had a sin nature.  I gently, but firmly whispered into his ear and he yielded and obeyed! I felt so brilliant!! 

Then, I got to thinking... God met one of His Prophets in a still quiet whisper.  He asks us to "be still and know that I am God"...  Maybe our being still positions us to Hear His whisper... 

I am realizing more and more how much "noise" there is around me.  From the billboards yelling at me as I drive down the interstate to the tv/radio blaring out it's messages to the busy calendar on my desktop: there isn't much room to be quiet and still to Hear Him.  It is a battle to find it, it is a discipline to create it.  Even then, the practice of being still and quiet is more than just sitting in a quiet corner of my house; it is getting my mind and soul to be still too.  

I think the more I realize how desperately I need to Know His Voice, the more I notice the loudness around me.  In not being still, I am becoming like that comfortable frog in a pot of water on the stove... that doesn't notice it is being cooked as the water slowly heats up!  I don't want to become dull to the Spirit, I don't want to be blinded by the darkness of the World: I want to be alert!  

I Peter 5:8 says, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 

Noise (this is more than just sound) is a tactic of the Enemy.  

Let us be still and know so that we may Hear His Voice, His Whisper... today and everyday.