Listen

 

The Lord came and stood there, calling “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10

Our Father in His infinite mercy speaks to me, to my heart through His Word, certainly but He knows me better than I know me and so He uses music. I love music and songs tend to get stuck in my head. In my years of walking with Jesus He has used songs to inspire me, guide me and comfort me.

 A little while ago I was listening to a few of my favorite worship songs. I started with some that have been my support system for the last few days. Then I thought about one that I love but haven’t heard for a bit. Listening to it I realized the truth of the title, a line that is repeated over and over throughout the song. “You won’t relent until you have it all, my heart is yours.”

For the last few days I’ve been working through a section of a Bible study that has been rather difficult. It’s on suffering and breaking free. Sounds fun right? As is often the case with studies of this nature, the farther in I go, the more challenges I face. I can almost see the Enemy taunting me, with the voice of the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz. “Think you’re going get free, do ya’?” No, I don’t think so. I know it. I know it because Jesus has already accomplished it.

So here’s the condensed version of the last week or so. Stupid arguments have occurred in places that are normally my safe havens. My work situation has been rife with pitfalls. (That would be the PG interpretation.)  Just when it looked like perhaps there was light at the end of a long, grey, sad tunnel a door slammed turning the murky grey half-light to complete darkness. While that may be temporary, it was a huge blow. And those are just the highlights. Still I’ve felt, albeit very light and feathery, the hand of God.

This has not been a season of God’s power in an obvious way for me. He is bounding in knocking things out of my way or blowing through and cleaning out the junk. It seemed to me that He was moving in a quiet, holding pattern fashion. Well that last part was wrong!  Suddenly, this evening listening to those words, “you won’t relent” I realized the enormous power moving through my life, surrounding me, protecting me.  The Enemy has used every arrow in his quiver and everyone has hit without leaving any real scar, a ding here, a scrape there but no permanent damage. How is that possible? Grace. God is willing to shower His grace on me and answer my prayers, chief among which is “draw me closer.” He won’t relent until He has my whole heart. Somehow that makes every tear, every ache, every second of heartbreak bearable.

Just short of a year ago I went through a day that defies description. The pain in my heart seemed as if it would crush me. That day too I was answered with a song that had been running through my head off and on for a day or two. The lyrics of that song ask, “how many times have You given me strength to, just keep breathing?” The answer to that is more times than I can count.

God always answers our prayers. He won’t relent. He will be our breath when it’s too painful to even try to breathe. Beyond the power of His perfect Word, God uses music for me. Dear one, find what He’s using to speak to you and listen. It’s pretty amazing.