The Surprise Gift
On Christmas morning, only one present remained under the Christmas tree. And it was waiting for me.
You see, I ordered this beautiful tapestry of the world on amazon a few weeks before Christmas, and when it arrived a few days later, I didn’t even unwrap it from its brown UPS packaging. It went straight from my doorstep into blue snowman wrapping paper with a bow on top, and I placed it under the tree for myself to be opened on Christmas morning. As if it were going to be a surprise! I decided to be my own Santa Clause this year, I guess.
“What are you reading?” My cousin asked when she saw me snuggled up on the couch on Christmas morning.
“Walking With God,” I replied (by John Eldredge). “It’s a lot about learning to hear God’s voice. A friend recommended it.”
A few minutes later, she noticed the lonely present under the Christmas tree. “Oh! I almost forgot!” I exclaimed. I joked and rolled my eyes at myself as I told my cousin how I wrapped my own Christmas present even though I already knew what it was, but as I tore in, I stopped my story in mid-sentence. Because the first thing I saw was pages, then a white shiny cover. There was no tapestry inside. It was definitely a book.
My first thought was, did I order the wrong thing?
“Discerning the Voice of God: How to Recognize When God Speaks.” A Bible Study book by Priscilla Shirer. I pulled out a little piece of paper tucked between the pages. It was a note from a friend, who, when she saw this book, thought of me and ordered it on Amazon for me weeks ago. Thinking back, I was pretty shocked that a map of the world ordered from China could have arrived after only a few days.
Meanwhile, my cousin is laughing out loud. Mainly because the not-surprise present that I was treating as a surprise turned out to be...a surprise!
“You must really need to hear God’s voice!” She said lovingly between laughs.
Its true. I do. We all do. And I’m so thankful for authors and speakers and mentors and resources in my life that are teaching me to listen and cultivate the practice of hearing from God.
In the first sermon of the new year, I heard the pastor encourage us to put first things first in 2018, and he said one of the best ways we can do that is by putting God’s Word first. Like literally first thing in the morning. The next Sunday, a different pastor in a different church in a different state reiterated the same message: we ask for God’s guidance, and we know that God speaks and gives guidance through his Word, so how can we expect to hear from him if we are not faithfully reading his Word?
The books by John Eldredge and Priscilla Shirer emphasize the same foundational truth (as will any book or message you hear on this topic). God speaks primarily through his Word. Anything that contradicts his Word is not from him. If you want to hear God’s voice, be in his Word.
When I get up in the quiet mornings, when others are still sleeping and even creation outside feels drowsy, when I sacrifice sleep and surrender those first moments to opening his Word, I remember why it’s all worth it. Because when we give him our first moments, he meets us there and he speaks.
It’s a new year and lot of us turn reflective and start new things in our lives. I’m offering you a gift for the new year. Imagine it wrapped in blue snowman wrapping paper, the last present remaining under the tree. It’s a gift you were expecting but yet you find it unexpected. It’s a reminder that you may not have asked for, but a gift you really need. Perhaps one of the best. It is the gift of being daily and firstly in the Word of God, listening for his voice and hearing him speak.
You see, I ordered this beautiful tapestry of the world on amazon a few weeks before Christmas, and when it arrived a few days later, I didn’t even unwrap it from its brown UPS packaging. It went straight from my doorstep into blue snowman wrapping paper with a bow on top, and I placed it under the tree for myself to be opened on Christmas morning. As if it were going to be a surprise! I decided to be my own Santa Clause this year, I guess.
“What are you reading?” My cousin asked when she saw me snuggled up on the couch on Christmas morning.
“Walking With God,” I replied (by John Eldredge). “It’s a lot about learning to hear God’s voice. A friend recommended it.”
A few minutes later, she noticed the lonely present under the Christmas tree. “Oh! I almost forgot!” I exclaimed. I joked and rolled my eyes at myself as I told my cousin how I wrapped my own Christmas present even though I already knew what it was, but as I tore in, I stopped my story in mid-sentence. Because the first thing I saw was pages, then a white shiny cover. There was no tapestry inside. It was definitely a book.
My first thought was, did I order the wrong thing?
“Discerning the Voice of God: How to Recognize When God Speaks.” A Bible Study book by Priscilla Shirer. I pulled out a little piece of paper tucked between the pages. It was a note from a friend, who, when she saw this book, thought of me and ordered it on Amazon for me weeks ago. Thinking back, I was pretty shocked that a map of the world ordered from China could have arrived after only a few days.
Meanwhile, my cousin is laughing out loud. Mainly because the not-surprise present that I was treating as a surprise turned out to be...a surprise!
“You must really need to hear God’s voice!” She said lovingly between laughs.
Its true. I do. We all do. And I’m so thankful for authors and speakers and mentors and resources in my life that are teaching me to listen and cultivate the practice of hearing from God.
In the first sermon of the new year, I heard the pastor encourage us to put first things first in 2018, and he said one of the best ways we can do that is by putting God’s Word first. Like literally first thing in the morning. The next Sunday, a different pastor in a different church in a different state reiterated the same message: we ask for God’s guidance, and we know that God speaks and gives guidance through his Word, so how can we expect to hear from him if we are not faithfully reading his Word?
The books by John Eldredge and Priscilla Shirer emphasize the same foundational truth (as will any book or message you hear on this topic). God speaks primarily through his Word. Anything that contradicts his Word is not from him. If you want to hear God’s voice, be in his Word.
When I get up in the quiet mornings, when others are still sleeping and even creation outside feels drowsy, when I sacrifice sleep and surrender those first moments to opening his Word, I remember why it’s all worth it. Because when we give him our first moments, he meets us there and he speaks.
It’s a new year and lot of us turn reflective and start new things in our lives. I’m offering you a gift for the new year. Imagine it wrapped in blue snowman wrapping paper, the last present remaining under the tree. It’s a gift you were expecting but yet you find it unexpected. It’s a reminder that you may not have asked for, but a gift you really need. Perhaps one of the best. It is the gift of being daily and firstly in the Word of God, listening for his voice and hearing him speak.
Comments
Post a Comment