Today Erica discusses the importance of finding quiet and stillness in order to connect with God and hear His voice. She uses the metaphor of hearing ice sing in extremely cold conditions to illustrate the need for silence and stillness to hear God’s voice. Erica will encourage you to make time for God and His word because it nourishes the soul. Join us as we continue our series on finding time to be in God’s Word.
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Transcription:
Did you know that there are places that are so cold that if you get quiet and still enough, you can hear the ice sing? That’s something I learned recently from reading a novel about a meteorologist. More on that coming up on the Bible for Busy People. Welcome! I’m Erica, your host, and I want to start today by just congratulating you because you overcame a significant hurdle. There are hurdles that some of us feel like we need to jump over to get into the Bible. I know on a deep level how hard it is to make time to get with God in a space like this, but I also know that it’s a myth that you and I don’t have time to jump into God’s word, to nourish our souls. Because when you and I sit down and open the Bible, we are cracking open the bread of life. We’re breaking bread with Jesus, and time with Him is always time well spent. He has a way of multiplying it. He’s just that good.
Alright, before we dive into the Bible today, can we talk about how Ice actually can sing in really cold places? I read about this recently and it’s because of the freezing and the unfreezing. It’s the cold itself and the wind all working together to make it sound like a song. God’s creation is always speaking, and to me, that is so beautiful. But the deal is you’ve got to be so quiet and still if you want to hear ice sing. And that is now on my ice bucket list. See what I did there? By the way, I’ve got to hear this someday. It just sounds amazing, but in order to hear the voice of God, you also have to get quiet and still, and that is so hard for me. It’s hard for you too, isn’t it, I wager? God loves stillness. He’s good at it. I’m not, but he knows it’s good for us. The Bible actually describes God’s voice as still and small. That’s something that the prophet Elijah learned and something that I think you and I need to really ponder. How often do we get quiet enough to be able to hear God’s beautiful still small voice? Psalm 46, 10 says,
Be still and know that I am God.
Okay, so God is saying, in order for you to know, to have faith, take a deep breath. Get still, get quiet. Have you ever just stood under the stars at night, even in your driveway? I actually get up really early for work and so often I will take 20, 30 seconds and just stare up at the stars and there is just this feeling that comes over me. It’s a peaceful feeling. It’s almost like God puts his arm around you in those moments when you choose to be still. We live in a chaotic, crazy world. It’s not easy, but if you can make a space in your day, just like you’re doing right now, you’re being still and knowing that He’s God by opening his Word. Make a space in nature too. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a minute. A minute with God is worth more than a hundred minutes doing anything else. It’s precious time and he knows we need it. Psalm 23, now. Join me in verse one.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.
God knows that our souls need restoration. The world tears your soul and my soul apart on the daily, but he wants to restore it. He leads us to the still waters. You’re sitting by a peaceful stream right now. You’re in his Word. You’re in his presence and in his presence, the Bible promises is fullness of joy.
Okay, one more Bible verse for today. See, you can study the Bible in under seven minutes. This is from Zephaniah. He was a prophet, and if you’re new to faith, to this podcast, just know that a prophet was like God’s mail carrier back in the day. He gave his messages to prophets, and they wrote them down and we’re still reading them today. This one from Zephaniah chapter three, verse 17 is so packed with power and love. You’re not going to believe it.
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
Wow. First of all, we find out our God is alive, that he is mighty, mighty to save us. We find out that he delights in us. We delight him. Have you ever described somebody as delightful? That’s how God describes you. You are delightful to him. I mean, there’s just no end to the bounty of this verse. Then we find out that he wants to calm all of our fears, and how does he do it? He does it with his love. I want you to picture a warm blanket and here comes Jesus. He’s wrapping it around your shoulders. He’s calming your fears with his love. He is near. His love surrounds us, as we learn in the Psalms. And finally, the creme de la creme, we find out that God sings over us. Zephaniah says, He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. So how in the world can we hear God sing over us? Well, how can we hear the ice sing? We have to get still and quiet. So, here as we wrap up our time together, let’s take a moment of pure silence. Let’s be still before the Lord. Let’s allow his blanket of love to wrap around our shoulders and see if you can hear him singing over you, songs of love and peace and hope. Let’s take a moment.
[Pause]
Lord, we thank you for your love and your peace. We delight in you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Alright, until next time, you are really loved.
Thank you for making time for the Bible, for Busy People today. If being part of this community is a blessing to you, it’s super easy to share this podcast with someone you love. We’re all about spreading the hope of Jesus like butter. So, if you’ve got a moment to write a review, boy, we’d really appreciate that. Maybe you need a little prayer today, or you are ready to take that next step with God. I invite you to check out our show notes. You’re going to find lots of encouragement there. This podcast is one branch on a tree called Purposely, a podcast network designed with practical podcasts to help you find and thrive in God’s purpose for your life. If you’ve got a pulse, you’ve got a purpose.
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