Listen to God Speak - by A.W. Tozer

Today's blog are not my words, but those of A.W. Tozer. I have been reading his classic book, The Pursuit of God. He has provided some ageless wisdom about God.  Here is an excerpt that really touched my heart about the continual presence of God in our lives.  To be still, listen and know that He is God:

 

The Bible will never be a living Book to us until we are convinced that God is articulate in His universe. To jump from a dead, impersonal world to a dogmatic Bible is too much for most people. They may admit that they should accept the Bible as the Word of God, and they may try to think of it as such, but they find it impossible to believe that the words there on the page are actually for them. A man may say, `These words are addressed to me,' and yet in his heart not feel and know that they are. He is the victim of a divided psychology. He tries to think of God as mute everywhere else and vocal only in a book.

I believe that much of our religious unbelief is due to a wrong conception of and a wrong feeling for the Scriptures of Truth. A silent God suddenly began to speak in a book and when the book was finished lapsed back into silence again forever. Now we read the book as the record of what God said when He was for a brief time in a speaking mood. With notions like that in our heads how can we believe? The facts are that God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak. The second Person of the Holy Trinity is called the word. The Bible is the inevitable outcome of God's continuous speech. It is the infallible declaration of His mind for us put into our familiar human words.

I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking. The prophets habitually said, `Thus saith the Lord.' They meant their hearers to understand that God's speaking is in the continuous present. We may use the past tense properly to indicate that at a certain time a certain word of God was spoken, but a word of God once spoken continues to be spoken, as a child once born continues to be alive, or a world once created continues to exist. And those are but imperfect illustrations, for children die and worlds burn out, but the Word of our God endureth forever.

If you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible expecting it to speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience. It is more than a thing, it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God.

 

Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, `Speak, for thy servant heareth.' Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Thy Voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking Voice. Amen

I can’t, but He can…. 

   Things are not always as they seem….sometimes circumstances may indicate that we have a right to be angry, a right to feel we have been wronged.  Choose grace.  Sometimes people who profess to love and care for us really do not continue to show us love.  Love them anyway.  We see someone we loved attacked by another, maybe even someone we love and trust.  Find a way in your heart and soul to forgive them.  Turn to the cross.
   It is so hard to always keep focused on giving and sharing grace and love.  It can be so hard to find a way to forgive someone when we are hurt or when we see someone we love being hurt.  Grace, love and forgiveness? Those are foundations of our faith if we indeed love and follow Jesus.  Hope and faith are two other pillars for us.  How do we keep our hope and faith in the firestorms that cross our paths?  Turn to the cross.
   There is an expression that gives me strength when I feel myself weakening.  This expression gives me hope when I feel myself losing hope.  When I struggle to forgive or love someone when I know that should be the only choice, this expression helps me.  It is not my original expression.  I read it somewhere and can’t remember exactly here. 
   I hope the original author won’t mind me sharing it with you, but this is it:  “I can’t but He can through me.”  This expression is something I say to myself when I badly need help.  There are so many times in my life when I need help turning the other cheek.  There are times in my life when I see someone I love hurting and I can’t help them other than prayer or words of encouragement.  “We feel so helpless at times.”  These words give me strength.  I can’t but he can through me.  I’ve heard people say let go and let God.  There are other expressions that give us all strength.  This expression is one of my favorites.
   When I remind myself that God can do through me if I invite Him to, then I can love when it is so hard.  I can give grace when I want to show anger.  I can forgive when I just don’t want to or when I know the other person doesn’t even want my forgiveness or believe he needs it. 
   When we choose to hurt others, we are not allowing the Lord to work through us.  We may camouflage our attacks on others, but attacks are still attacks.  I don’t always know who reads my blogs and I sure don’t know who they help or even annoy.  What I know is blogging is something I do when I sit down and ask God to work through me.  I believe the promise of Jesus when He told us that His spirit is available to us when we call on Him.  I believe He can and does work through me and you when we give ourselves to Him.  And I also believe we need to do it daily, hourly and each moment that we can find the strength.  Love others especially when it is most difficult.
   So today, tomorrow or sometime down the road when you are facing something that you know is testing your will to stay the course, consider these words to give you strength:  I can’t but he can through me…and if you have words of your own to share that give you strength I welcome and need them.  We are called to love Him and to love one another.  When we share with one another, we become stronger together in our faith, hope and love.  God bless you and your loved ones.  He can through you….   Jim