Sitting in the silence,
with only a trickle of light,
teasing the darkness.
A cup filled with liquid pleasure
warming my hands.
Listening.
The silence is loud,
yet,
small, insignificant sounds distract me,
pulling me away from the moment,
the Sound.
I must silence the sounds –
wading through the clutter –
and return to the Sound,
the Voice,
the One.
Listening to God
Listening
Been up since 4 AM,
Listening to the silence of a sleeping house.
Listening for the still, quiet voice of You.
Listening with expectant ears.
Listening with a hopeful heart.
Listening
This world is noisy and my ears are tired.
Too many voices.
Too many sounds.
But now the silence, oh the silence.
[Tick, tock]
[Distant car engine outside]
[House creaking]
Even those small noises are loud.
Longing for silence, if just for a moment.
No distractions.
Just You.
I need Your voice.
I’m here,
Listening,
For You.
Psalm of Discernment
Oh Lord, Your voice seems so far from me,
Your voice seems so distant.
The sound of Your voice is so very quiet,
Their words are lost on me.
I strain my ears to hear You,
I lean in to catch Your voice.
Oh Lord, why can’t I hear?
Why is the air so silent?
But I know You are not far,
For You are closer to me than I am to myself.
I know Your voice is not weak,
For Your created with a powerful word.
I know that You won’t leave me hanging,
For Your will, will be done.
Oh Lord, the silence is deafening,
it is loud in my ears,
but to You I cling,
and therefore I find my peace.
I know You will speak to me,
In You I place my trust.
To You be the glory,
forever and ever.
To You be everlasting praise.
Oh Lord, I will wait for Your voice.
Crossroads
At a crossroads – which way do I go?
Do I go left?
Do I go right?
I don’t know, for the unknown scares me.
The indecision is almost paralyzing.
The choices are overwhelming.
The pros and cons are confusing.
Nothing is making sense.
I can’t make this decision.
Help me!
Help me!
Is God testing me saying, “Trust Me“?
Is Satan tempting me saying, “Trust yourself“?
I don’t know.
Do I go left?
Do I go right?
Do I stay?
Maybe that’s it, but now I am even more confused.
Help me!
Help me!
I won’t be at peace until I know what to do.
Almighty God, help me.
I am Yours.
To Follow God
The congregation that I serve has been renting space for 10 years but today we looked at a potential building to buy. There are a lot of questions to be answered yet, but hopes are running very high with people. Selfishly, I/we want this building, but God is in control, and so we need to pray; listening and obeying. The following poem was birthed out of this praying…
To follow God is never easy
To follow God can make you queasy
But to keep your eyes on Him alone
Is to have your vision fully honed.
So trust and trust and trust even more
And God will present an open door
So don’t create your own self-made path
For you won’t enjoy the aftermath
Sweet Somethings
God is whispering sweet somethings in your ear,
For He is not far but oh so very near.
He has wonderful things for you to behold,
That in this life you can be so very bold.
For your life here is not the point of it all,
But the glory of God that stands oh so tall.
So quiet your life and give heed to His voice,
That you may know Him and through Jesus rejoice.
Listening
[Tick tock, tick tock]
[Beep beep]
[Screech]
[Wind]
[Murmur, murmur]
Noises fill my airspace.
Invading my thoughts.
Distracting
No where to go where my space isn’t polluted with noise,
but I sit and listen,
trying to listen above the noise – through it – in despite of it.
Listening for the still, small voice of God.
[Tick tock, tick tock]
Listening for God but there’s noise in my head.
Thoughts running around; bumping into each other.
Disjointed
Distracting
Discouraging
No where to go where my space isn’t polluted with noise.
God help me.
Speak above the noise – through it – scattering it – destroying it.
May Your still, small voice, drown out the noise.
[Tick tock, tick tock]
I keep listening,
for God will not disappoint.
I keep listening,
for God’s voice is all I want.
I keep listening…
To See You
To see You face to face,
is the goal as I run this difficult race.
I dodge and I weave.
I stumble but to You I cleave.
So…
Help me, oh Lord, to see Your way.
Help me, oh Lord, to follow You each day.
For You are my life,
even in the midst of much strife.
For You are my way,
so please guide and mold this big lump of clay.
Oh Lord, I do want to see You.
Oh Lord, I do want to trust you.
For to see You face to face,
is indeed my goal; thank You for Your amazing grace.
In Jesus amazing name I pray,
Amen!
The Pastor -|—
Silence!
I have not been silent about the events of the past few days. I have not turned a blind eye or a deaf ear. True, I haven’t written anything here but I have not been silent.
I have not been silent on the street.
I have not been silent in my office.
I have not been silent in my home.
I have not been silent at the coffee shop.
No, I have not been boisterous and in people’s faces about my concerns and fears over this election. I have not been outspoken about anyone who was elected or not elected. I have not taken to the streets in protest. I have not been feisty on social media (at least I hope I haven’t been). I am just saying,
I have not been silent.
Instead, I have been crying out. I have been crying out to God. I have been pouring out my heart to Him. I have been outspoken in my concerns for this nation; for this world. I have been “up in God’s face”; making sure He has heard me.
I have not been silent.
And we can’t be silent at least we can’t be silent with God. And with that said, we need to be silent in this world for a time. I am not saying that we ignore the problems that we have as a nation, but we need to be silent in this world, now, and focus on crying out to God. For how can we expect to change the world if we are too busy talking and not listening to God. How can we change the world if we are taking to the streets and not on our knees, listening to our Father. How can we make a difference if we aren’t listening to one another. We need to be silent, now, so we can cry out to God. We need to be silent so we can listen. We need to be silent.
There is too much noise.
There is too much fear.
There is too much hate.
Silence and Listen. God wants to say something…
The Pastor -|—
All I Want
Father God,
there is much that I want.
Sometimes my list looks eerily like a letter to Santa.
I want this…
I need this…
I must have this…
All things that I think will make me happy.
But none of them bring you glory.
—————————–
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” (Psalm 32:9)
——————————
And then I am quickly reminded of what brings You glory.
You are glorified when I seek to be instructed by You.
You are glorified when what I want is You.
You are glorified when my happiness is wrapped up in You.
You are glorified when I am satisfied in You.
And so I seek instruction from You.
I seek wisdom from You.
I seek to glorify You.
Teach me
Lead me
Show me
And therefore, all I want for Christmas is YOU,
oh God.
All I want for Christmas is YOU.
The (seeking) Pastor -|—
The Heart of a Pastor 