Can You Hear Me Now?

Recently, I was reading a devotional called Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God by Mark Batterson. In it, Batterson discusses how God speaks in a whisper, and the definition of whisper being, “speaking very softly using one’s breath without one’s vocal cords.” Has anyone ever whispered so softly to you that you had to lean towards or into them to hear what they were saying? When God speaks, it is exactly this. God speaks to us because He loves us, He wants relationship with us. God whispers so that we lean into His Words and His Truth. God whispers (uses His breath) when He speaks to us because His breath is life.

A year ago, I was in the midst of my most challenging trial. It was lonely. It felt like my engagement, my friendships, my home; everything was being stripped away from me. However, now when I look back at it, I see God’s hand pushing those things aside. I see God fighting for me, moving mountains to reach me, crushing the lies of the enemy that I had been believing for years. I was living in the death and despair of my own sin, not knowing how the power of an Almighty, Merciful God could bring me the most joy and freedom.

That’s exactly what the enemy wants. He wants you to stay in your trial, in your hardship, holding onto the sin that is keeping you bound.

But know this: that sin will never fulfill you. That guy, that girl, that drink, that high… it will never be enough. You know what will be enough? The blood of Jesus that frees you and washes you clean. In your darkest moment, in the moment the pain is so real you wish you could tear your heart from your chest just to stop the hurt for even a second; the moment you have cried yourself into numbness, the moment you are lying on the floor, cold, broken, hopeless… God is there.

“Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

God is speaking to you.

Pain is loud. Sometimes your pain is so real it feels like the world is screaming. It feels like your world is on fire. But God is right there with you in that, and He is whispering His Breath of Life over your spirit. He is whispering so that you might lean on Him. He is whispering because when He whispers, you have to listen.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Are you listening to God? Or are you so caught up in your season and what you want out of it that you stopped really listening?

I came out of my trial changed, a completely different, stronger person; not because of my own strength, but because of God’s strength. I learned that He called me to more. God did not take away my engagement or my friends or the life I was comfortable with. He knew that the sin in my life was so loud, I would never be able to hear Him whispering, breathing new life over me. To hear God’s voice, my world needed to be quiet.

God knows more. We have to accept that in our trial and season, God is already ahead of us with greater blessings than we can even imagine. As Jeremiah 29:11 tells us,

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

And Roman 8:28 encourages us to know,

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Go through your trial with thanksgiving, knowing that the Lord your God goes before you, knowing that in the quiet, His whisper of new life can be heard the clearest; and knowing that the darkest moments are where the light shines the brightest.

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,” ( 2 Corinthians 4:16-17)

Liz Tatton