Following Directions Even When You Didn’t Hear ‘Em

This morning at our daily devotions at Target Central Starbucks, we were discussing hearing the voice of the Lord even during times when He seems silent. We know that the Lord delights to speak to us, spend time with us, and hear from us. However, we also have seasons where either the Lord is withholding His voice, or perhaps the silence is created by all the distractions and cloudiness within our own mind. Either way, God’s character never changes and even in the silence we know that God is near.

As a spiritual family, we read through the Moravian Daily Texts together and this morning’s Psalm was Psalm 77:10-15; a Psalm of Asaph:

10 And I said, “This is my fate;
    the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
11 But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
    I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
12 They are constantly in my thoughts.
    I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.

13 O God, your ways are holy.
    Is there any god as mighty as you?
14 You are the God of great wonders!
    You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
15 By your strong arm, you redeemed your people,
    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

In verses 1-10, Asaph is lamenting because God has seemed to have “turned his hand” against him. A time of silence. A time of painful stillness. A time of trouble. However, in verse 11, Asaph’s faith kicks in.

When we can’t hear the voice of the Lord, we then can rely on what we know the Father’s character to be. God is a good father. When we can’t hear him speaking, we still know who he is. When he seems far, we know He is close. When we don’t know what to do, we still have the example of Jesus.

It reminds me of a conversation, well, several conversations actually, with my oldest daughter Bella. We often talk about how she can best represent Ashley and I when she is at school. I remind her often of who she is, she is a Phelps. And we are constantly teaching our children what it means to be a Phelps. Our identity, who and whose we are, forms how we live. Obedience is always flows from our identity. So I remind Bella to remember who her dad is… what kind of decisions do I make? how do I show love? How do I serve? How do I talk to others? What are my priorities? These are things that I hope she remembers, so that when she’s faced with situations she can remember what her dad would do. That she would hear my voice in her head even when I’m not there. But more importantly, I want her to know that she is God’s daughter and I want her to imitate Jesus. I love this quote of Craig Groeschel: “When you know who you are, you know what to do.” (That phrase is said a lot around my house!)

It’s similar with God. We know His character, so even when we can’t hear His voice specifically, we still have a pretty good idea of what Jesus would do. We know who we are, too. We are His kids. And because we are His kids, we represent Him wherever we go. So let’s do what we know He would do.

So today, as I drove home from devotions I didn’t necessarily have a plan for how I would exactly spend my time. So I prayed: “Lord, what is your plan for me today? How should I spend my time? Who should I talk to to? Where should I go?” I had sort of planned to go to our church campus and get some planning done, work on the website, write a song, and other office-type work, but I decided to go home first last minute. As I pulled onto my street, there were my neighbors shoveling two cubic yards of limestone and sand for the pavers they were going to install for their new backyard patio. Alright, here we go. So I got to spend an hour or so shoveling rock with my neighbors. And it was good.

I’m thankful I had the opportunity I did. I didn’t hear the Lord tell me to help my neighbor. But I knew that Jesus would have if He were me earlier today. So take the time in all your comings and goings to consider what Jesus would do if he were you. And I even had  time to finish all the other work I wanted to do (including this blog post), and I feel more energized.

Missional worship leaders are good neighbors. Good neighbors bear good fruit. Good fruit produces more good fruit. How can you be a good neighbor this week?