Yesterday, I embarked on a thrilling adventure with my daughter after rescuing her from the clutches of volleyball practice. As we journeyed back home, we found ourselves at a chaotic intersection straight out of a comedy movie. Picture this: a 4-lane highway, a traffic light playing mind games, a railroad crossing gate doing the limbo, two cyclists on a side quest, oncoming traffic ready for a showdown, a car leading the way, a car tailing us, and a car leading the leader. To add to the madness, the front car suddenly decided it was auditioning for a reverse driving competition! It was a reverse, reverse situation, and we were the unwilling audience. Cue the potential for a blockbuster disaster - confusion, chaos, and a sprinkle of pain. My daughter and I found ourselves in the middle of a wacky sitcom episode.
But just when things seemed to spiral out of control, a mysterious voice whispered, "Chillax." So, I channeled my inner zen master, brought our car to a dramatic halt, and embraced the chaos unfolding before us. Lo and behold, the universe had a plot twist ready for us - no crashes, no injuries, just a hilarious tale to tell at the dinner table.
So, what happened?
To the untrained eye, this situation could be explained by describing what had been observed. But to me, my daughter, to us, something special happened. In this small moment of life, the decision to act in a relaxed manner might have made all the difference. We were in control. Complete control. We were masters of the situation.
Now maybe you have these moments in your life too.
In the next few minutes, I'd like to share how we can walk spiritually and hear that still small voice in certain situations. God's still small voice. Here are some tips to help keep ourselves in a position to receive help when we need it.
Tip #1: Watch and be ready. Help from God may come at the most likely or unlikely times and situations. In 1 Corinthians 16:13, we read, "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." The amplified version reads like this: "Be on guard; stand firm in your believing [in God, respecting His precepts and keeping your doctrine sound]. Act like [mature] men and women, and be courageous; be strong." We keep ourselves mentally active and aware in all situations, no matter the place or time, likely or unlikely.
Like a mature person, be on guard, be strong.
1 Thessalonians 5:6 says, "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." The Amplified version reads, "So then let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does], but let us keep wide awake [alert and cautious] and let us be sober [self-controlled, calm, and wise]."
Watch and be ready.
Here's another tip on how we can walk spiritually and hear that still small voice in certain situations.
Tip #2: Travel light. We want to travel light physically and mentally. II Timothy 2:4 states, "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life." We are to travel light so as to be free to serve God and walk spiritually. We want to be careful in what and with whom we choose to get involved with. We don't want to be burdened, stuck, or held down. We don't want to be entangled in the world's affairs. We avoid those things. We want to be free enough to serve and grow spiritually.
We also want to travel light mentally. Philippians 4:6 says,"Be anxious for nothing." I think the TV news and social media just makes people anxious. We don't want to be battling and entangled mentally in our lives. It's hard to hear from God if our minds are full of anxiety, doubt, worry, and fear.
Travel light.
Here's another tip to keep ourselves in a position to receive help when we need it.
Tip #3: Be meek. Meekness is defined as being gentle, kind, humbly patient, or quiet in nature, even while under provocation or temptation from others. We want to keep our minds open and quiet, and keep our hearts gentle and kind. In the car driving situation with my daughter, I didn't feel "road rage." I became very patient with the person who was driving backwards and endangering others. Throughout the Bible, we can read stories about men and women who walked with meekness and received help from God just at the right time and place.
Be meek.
Tip #4: Study God's Word. Study the spiritual truths in the Word. The Bible is in the category of the five sense in that we can hold it, open it, read it, write notes in it. We study it, and put what we read into our minds. The more we study, the more ready we are to spiritually receive God's love and help just when we need it, which can come to us after we close the good book.
II Timothy 2:15 states, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman (or workwoman) that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Study. The more your know, the farther you can go. The more we study God's written revelation (the Bible), the better position we will be in to recognize God's revelation with our spiritual senses. The more we know, the better we can discern the information coming to us in that still small voice.
Study.
Tip #5: Pray. When we are born again, we get to pray perfectly to God. When we receive the gift of holy spirit, we become fully capable of operating the manifestation of perfect prayer, which is fundamental in operating the manifestations of the spirit.
In I Corinthians 14:18 Paul says, "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all." The Apostle Paul knew this tip to walking spiritually.
Pray.
Tip #6: Don't be deceived by the five senses. The outward appearance of things in life is what we see by our five senses. But we are to walk spiritually, by the spirit, not by the senses. By the five senses, the situation my daughter and I were in didn't look good at all. Not at all. If we didn't know the love of God, I'm not sure how we would have reacted in that situation.
Don't be fooled by what you see.
Tip #7: Take action. God will tell us by our spiritual senses when it is time to act, when it’s time to go, move, and walk. In John 8:2-11, there is a story of Jesus waiting for just the right time to act, “2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. 3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
Jesus took action on his own schedule, on his own time. In that situation, he waited for just the right moment to stand and speak. That’s what we want to do. We want to take action just when it’s needed.
We want to be doers of the word. A doer acts on the Word she knows. As we get into the habit of acting on the Word we know, we will also act on the help and love that God gives us with that still small voice.
If we want results in our lives, we have to take action. Believing without action is not believing. When we were born again, we received the gift of holy spirit - that’s potential power, inherent power, spiritual ability that we believers received. That spirit created in you - it's ready to go! And we have the right to put that power into action. When we act or speak out according to God’s Word, the result is manifested power.
Revelation (that still small voice) begins where the Bible ends. The Bible is in the physical world, but the love and help from God is in the spiritual world. God, who is spirit, teaches his creation (spirit) that's in you, which is now your spirit. Your spirit teaches your mind. Then it becomes manifested in the senses realm as you walk out in this world - as you act and speak out.
God has created and designed each believer’s gift of holy spirit to fit our body, our mind. It’s our gift of holy spirit. And we are responsible for operating that gift. We each have the wonderful, believing opportunity to discover how God reveals his will to our inner nature, which then communicates to our mind, so that we understand what God wants us to know, so that we can carry out his will, and become spiritually mature, to live a more than abundant life. That's God, in Christ, in you. That's the unconditional love of God, in your renewed mind, in manifestation.
Summary
So, here's the scoop - we've cracked the code on how to stroll through life with a spiritual swagger and tune in to that teeny tiny voice when things get wacky. I mean, seriously, keep yourself in the right zone to catch a lifeline just when you're about to faceplant. And hey, these nifty tricks? They're like your spiritual GPS, guiding you through the chaos with finesse.
We've dived deep into the art of spiritual sauntering and dialing in to that whisper in the midst of life's circus. By being alert, packing light, embracing humility, hitting the books (the good ol' Bible), throwing up a prayer or two, not falling for the tricks of your five senses, and actually doing something, you set yourself up to catch those divine vibes right when you're in a pickle. Remember my 'stuck in traffic' epiphany? These hacks are like your survival kit for navigating life's rollercoaster with grace and guts. Keep 'em in your back pocket, and you'll be catching divine signals even in the craziest of moments.
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