Faithful Friday: He Speaks

Have you ever been stunned when reading the Bible?  As if the words just reach out and shake you?  Or perhaps they fall down and envelop you like a hug?  I've noticed over and over again how many times this week, God has spoken to me through His word.

We discussed this several days ago in a church group we're a part of.  The leader, who happens to also be our preacher, mentioned how God uses scripture to move in our lives.  It isn't coincidence when we happen upon a specific verse or section in the Bible.  When a daily devotion comes across my inbox and I feel the message was written just for me, perhaps it was - or at least God used it at that time to speak to me.

Tim and I also read a devotion each night.  We are continually amazed at how that short passage is so timely with whatever we'd faced that day, or perhaps it is preparing us for tomorrow.  I've also noticed that often times a scripture or focus I'll write for Faithful Friday is reaffirmed to me that evening in our reading.  They are all certainly God-goosebump moments and I feel so blessed to experience them. 

At each point, it's as if God is just in the room, everywhere, and using that moment, a word, a sentence, a story to speak to our lives...to speak to us.  What a privilege!

And yet it somewhat saddens me to think about what message I might have missed on days I neglected time with Him.  In other points in my life when I wasn't so committed to reading His word each day.  It just shows me again how extremely important it is to make that time each day - and evening - with Him.

I heard or saw something this week that said, "What have you done today that is eternal?" and it resonated with me.  How many times do we feel "life" is too busy for God?  Or we make excuses about reading our Bible tomorrow, or that it's ok if we miss church this week. 

And even going a step above, what are the missed opportunities we had to share the message with others?  Were we too distracted to notice a friend, maybe a stranger, in need of God's love?  May I continually be reminded to remember why I'm truly here.  Ultimately the only To-do list that matters is bringing others to Him and keeping myself close to His side, listening as He speaks.

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." - John 10:27