Speak To Me
By Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of July 25, 2021
One of my favorite Christian songs during quiet moments with God has become Kari Jobe’s Speak To Me. As the lyrics go, she sings, “Speak to me. I’m listening.”
I’ve noticed, as I incline my ear to God in moments of solitude, He reveals glimpses of how He’s working on my behalf. He gives me revelation, highlights Scripture, and shows me signs all around.
How about you?
One evening, very recently, as I drove out of the church parking lot, I noticed the sky. It was mostly clear but partly cloudy. The setting sun was still streaming through the few clouds. And I noticed one particular cloud that was dark. It was small and in the distance. Rain poured from it. I thanked God for His amazing beauty, then I drove down the hill toward home.
When I exited off the interstate onto a street a few blocks away from where I live, God met me with a big beautiful rainbow. I was awestruck! What was also special to my heart was that He showed me an end of the rainbow. There it was, reaching all the way down below the treetops onto level ground along the roadside. From there, it peaked up into the clouds. Then, as I turned the corner toward home, I could easily see the other side, which reached over and above where I currently live.
I knew this to be God’s sign of promise to me, showing me that it extended well beyond where I was.
I knew our Lord was encouraging me forward along my journey.
So, how is God encouraging you, comforting you and building you up, as in 1 Corinthians 14:3?
Sometimes, as we work in our daily routines, we just need to come away and look up to see signs that God is moving us beyond where we are. We need a fresh reminder that He’s faithfully advancing us in ways that align with His destiny for us. We need to see that He’s still pleased with us and that He has far more for us as He ends some current assignments.
Sometimes, we need to look up and realize that, as we have faithfully co-labored with Him, He has brought us into agreement with Him and His provision even more.
We need to see that He has grown us and that He still has us on His track.
We need to be encouraged that He is still working out everything according to His plan, despite how we feel sometimes, especially halfway through an assignment or toward the end.
Sometimes, we just need a sign, a symbol, a Word, a moment of connection that ignites fresh hope in our hearts.
As we release that which our Lord has led us to let go of, we long to be assured that we will experience a Joseph ending, while walking through a Ruth transition.
In Ruth 3:18 ESV, Naomi said to Ruth, "Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today."
God’s strategy of wisdom, spoken through Naomi, were Ruth’s rainbow, uplifting her heart to see beyond where she was actively engaged to an even bigger engagement. I wonder if Ruth ever saw any actual rainbows while she worked to glean the very field she would soon own. Nonetheless, Ruth believed and was encouraged to set her expectations accordingly to receive God’s promise.
Interestingly, in this verse, Naomi says to wait; but in the same sentence, she says the matter will be settled "today." So, we see here that God is doing a swift work on Ruth’s behalf.
So, friends, where are you in your current assignments? Are you toward the middle or the end of its timeline? Do you feel you’ve been running for a while and need a fresh infilling from our Spirit of Grace?
God’s Word says we will receive that which we believe and that which we decide, according to His will (Matt 21:21, John 22:28, 1 Sam 9:6).
Job 22:28 NLT says, "You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you."
So, in light of all this, maybe it’s a good time to come away with our Lord and receive encouragement. Share your heart with Him, and let Him bring it in a way that amazes you. He loves you and longs to do so.
Pray with me if you will…
Dear Lord,
Thank You for the assignments You have given me. Thank You for encouraging me along the way to completion. Open my eyes to see beyond where I am in this moment. Give me an undeniable sign of Your promise to me. Spirit of Grace, fill me with fresh hope that will lift my heart, mind, and body above weariness as I work and wait with You. Enable me to believe and receive, in my soul, all the joy you have for me. Thank You for alone time with You and for Your angels on assignment that help me (Ps 91:11). Thank you for freeing me from that which once dogged me and for filling me with awestruck wonder (2 Pet 2:22). Thank You for a closer connection with You that proves strong and victorious above all else.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name.
Amen.
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.
