The Whisper

 "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!' " Isaiah 6:8...."God is on the lookout today for a man who will be quiet enough to get a message from Him, brave enough to preach it, and honest enough to live it." Vance Havner....."You have to be close enough to Him to hear Him whisper." Samuel Logan Brengle

I think all who profess to be a follower of Christ would agree that God is always speaking. If this is so, why then do so few of us ever seem to hear what He's saying? Why do we most often depend upon the preacher to tell us what they've heard from the Lord? In some places, huge conferences are held where believers flock to hear what the Father is saying in these days we live in. Now, I believe we desperately need preachers who hear from the heart of the Father and proclaim to the people what they've heard. Yet nowhere in Scripture have I seen any indication that God limits Himself to a select few to speak with. Nor do I believe, as do some, that He has ceased to speak in these days. As Brengle says, we need to live close enough to Him that we can hear His whisper. Few of us are to be found in such a location with Him. So we depend upon those who do....to our great harm.

I've a retired pastor friend who has remained beloved in the hearts of those the Father entrusted him with. He was and continues to be recognized as one who walked close enough to hear His whisper. As a result, many of his flock would come to him and ask him what he'd been hearing from the Lord. One day a brother, we'll call him Jim, came and asked him that question. The pastor, only partly in jest, replied, "He says that He misses you Jim." His point was that the Spirit had much to say to Jim, but he wasn't in any kind of position to hear. How like Jim are you and I?

In Havner's above quote, we have much of the reason so many hear so little from Him. We're rarely quiet or close enough to hear. And we lack the courage to act upon what He'd be saying if we were. Last of all, too many of us are not living out daily what it is that we have heard. and say we know. Until we do, we won't hear more, indeed, we won't hear much at all.

I believe the Father is speaking the same words to the church today as He did to Isaiah more than 2500 years ago. Who can He send to a culture sick unto death? Who will go for Him to it and address the sickness both in the culture of the church and of the world? Do we hear His whisper? You don't have to be a preacher, evangelist or missionary to be sent out. If you truly are His, you've already been sent. You don't have to compose an eloquent message from Him. Your life is to be His message, a message His Word says has been written upon our hearts. That is, if we have lived close enough to hear His whisper. Have we? Have you? Listen for His whisper. Blessings, Pastor O