Good morning
So, it's 5:30 ish and everyone is sleeping BUT ME!!! Those exclamations aren't excitement, more like exasperation. It's truly ironic that I have to pull myself out of bed to address the crying baby and by the time they are settled, voila I'm wide awake. I have to say that it's been a blessing to have gotten used to this crazy sleep schedule way before the babies had actually arrived because it's not as hard to get used to now.
I have lots of thoughts running around my head. The first is if we as the church are making a grave error by not teaching on hearing the voice of the holy spirit. I have a friend whose a fairly new christian and is stuck in her pain and unsure how to hear God's voice apart from it being spoken by others into her life. It kinda comes into the category of thinking we're helping for the immediate time but really disempowering in the long run.
I first started thinking about it the last few weeks of our pregnancy when our extended families' anxiousness over the unknown was at a head. Alot of these people are believers and in retrospect I found it interesting and frustrating to look back and realize that the only voice repeatedly telling me that God was in control and it would all work out was mine. What others were doing was sharing their concerns and opinions, which were totally valid, like if we should be travelling with a possible storm warning in effect, if I should live with family the last month of our pregnancy in the city near the hospital, whether we should get induced or have a c-section, what we should do after the babies arrive to "survive". But all these concerns were really based in fear of "what if" and where does the sovereignty of God and my life being totally in his hands come into the equation?
That's where I started thinking about the voice of the Holy spirit. Jesus tells his disciples before his crucifixion that he will be going to the father but that the Holy spirit will be sent. It's a direct connection to God. Do we as a church utilize it enough? Do we live our lives actively seeking out his "opinion" on our problems, fears and decisions? I don't know how to mesh the mind's wisdom and the voice of the spirit, because in my experience they are not always saying the same thing. Like take us moving to Altona for a half time worship job. On a purely logical level it doesn't appear to be a smart decision. We're moving away from family to a community we have little connection with, we're leaving my good job for no guaranteed job, it's only half time, the housing market in Altona was NOT cheaper, it's a huge risk and there are no guarantees. Why did we do it? Because the voice of the spirit was inviting us. It seems as I think back on the gospels that the disciples were continuously doing things that seemed "crazy" and "illogical" like leaving their jobs on the spot to follow a man they had just met. Like selling their posesssions and land to share with their fellowship community for nothing in return. Like being killed for refusing to deny Jesus.
So back to opinions. Why are we so eager to share our "wisdom" when we have no idea what the holy spirit is saying? And when we have no idea what God is really up to for this person's life. If we had listened to all the concerned voices that encouraged us NOT to move to Altona we'd be missing out on all the blessings we're currently enjoying. Like our house, having twins in our old house would have been a nightmare. I LOVE the house we are in and am so glad we didn't have to move when we were pregnant. And then take our church community. Rural living is something else. The town is your community and we've been so embraced by everyone I have never felt more cared for and known. It's really cool too that even though we don't have family living in town, we have people dropping by and calling all the time offering to help us out. It's like a large extended family that live within 5 minutes of you. I can't help but think that in God's master plan he knew about the twins and was getting our ducks in order to prepare us for their arrival well before they were even conceived. Now with a God who cares so much about the details of our lives and is so aware of all the intricate connections of the goings on in our present and future what is there really to worry about?
I fear this is way too simplistic, but maybe God doesn't need to be so complicated.
I have lots of thoughts running around my head. The first is if we as the church are making a grave error by not teaching on hearing the voice of the holy spirit. I have a friend whose a fairly new christian and is stuck in her pain and unsure how to hear God's voice apart from it being spoken by others into her life. It kinda comes into the category of thinking we're helping for the immediate time but really disempowering in the long run.
I first started thinking about it the last few weeks of our pregnancy when our extended families' anxiousness over the unknown was at a head. Alot of these people are believers and in retrospect I found it interesting and frustrating to look back and realize that the only voice repeatedly telling me that God was in control and it would all work out was mine. What others were doing was sharing their concerns and opinions, which were totally valid, like if we should be travelling with a possible storm warning in effect, if I should live with family the last month of our pregnancy in the city near the hospital, whether we should get induced or have a c-section, what we should do after the babies arrive to "survive". But all these concerns were really based in fear of "what if" and where does the sovereignty of God and my life being totally in his hands come into the equation?
That's where I started thinking about the voice of the Holy spirit. Jesus tells his disciples before his crucifixion that he will be going to the father but that the Holy spirit will be sent. It's a direct connection to God. Do we as a church utilize it enough? Do we live our lives actively seeking out his "opinion" on our problems, fears and decisions? I don't know how to mesh the mind's wisdom and the voice of the spirit, because in my experience they are not always saying the same thing. Like take us moving to Altona for a half time worship job. On a purely logical level it doesn't appear to be a smart decision. We're moving away from family to a community we have little connection with, we're leaving my good job for no guaranteed job, it's only half time, the housing market in Altona was NOT cheaper, it's a huge risk and there are no guarantees. Why did we do it? Because the voice of the spirit was inviting us. It seems as I think back on the gospels that the disciples were continuously doing things that seemed "crazy" and "illogical" like leaving their jobs on the spot to follow a man they had just met. Like selling their posesssions and land to share with their fellowship community for nothing in return. Like being killed for refusing to deny Jesus.
So back to opinions. Why are we so eager to share our "wisdom" when we have no idea what the holy spirit is saying? And when we have no idea what God is really up to for this person's life. If we had listened to all the concerned voices that encouraged us NOT to move to Altona we'd be missing out on all the blessings we're currently enjoying. Like our house, having twins in our old house would have been a nightmare. I LOVE the house we are in and am so glad we didn't have to move when we were pregnant. And then take our church community. Rural living is something else. The town is your community and we've been so embraced by everyone I have never felt more cared for and known. It's really cool too that even though we don't have family living in town, we have people dropping by and calling all the time offering to help us out. It's like a large extended family that live within 5 minutes of you. I can't help but think that in God's master plan he knew about the twins and was getting our ducks in order to prepare us for their arrival well before they were even conceived. Now with a God who cares so much about the details of our lives and is so aware of all the intricate connections of the goings on in our present and future what is there really to worry about?
I fear this is way too simplistic, but maybe God doesn't need to be so complicated.
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