#MorningMessages - Shhh be quiet he’s speaking to you!

Happy New Month guys! As it’s a new month I thought I’d start a with a new level of transparency by doing a small

devotional that will help us ( both you and I) not only start the day off with God but to also do our days with him too.

Lately, I’ve been really struggling with hearing God’s voice, figuring out what he’s trying to say to me and discerning the difference between his will and mine. One thing that got me through this ( or is getting me through this) is just going back to basics, going back to the foundation of where it all started & that’s reading the word. The word reminded me that God gave us the Holy Spirt who is our friend, our comforter & our advocate (John 14:16). Meaning he’s there to help us through it all, he can literally be whatever we need him to be, this is why I find the The Holy Spirt so so interesting, because he’s always been here I just didn’t realise - he is literally everywhere. He resides in our hearts and we can literally speak to him at any interval at any time and he’ll begin to prompt us with words of encouragement, he’ll use people or objects literally anything to get to us all we need to do is be still. Not physically still, well maybe physically but more mental if anything. By still what is meant is that we need to refix our focus, renew our minds and shift our perspective. What I mean can literally be encapsulated by one pertinent bible verse which is Psalms 46:10 “be still and know I am God”, so simple yet so effective. Too simple, that perhaps we loose the meaning so let me dissect it for you. Step 1: be still - focus on me, step 2 - remember who I am.

Step 1:

Often times, in life I can get far too caught up in the motions - putting my focus on temporary things that at the end of the day doesn’t matter in fact the bible actually urges us to change our perspective from the things of the earth and look at the things or heaven ( Colossians 3:2). This is a bit of a divergence, but I think this is so important because heaven v earth are very distinct for one main reason, the earth is temporary where as heaven is fixed and long-term. This to me insinuates that we need to put our trust into something thats constant and for me that’s God because he’s the same yesterday today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), he literally never changes, his peserpctive is fixed, certain and always right . So how do we rely on the things of heaven when we’re physically in earth? Well aforementioned, God gave us the Holy Spirt - who resides in us and reveals the truth to us. I believe one of the ways we can recognise the Holy Spirts presence is by focusing on God and the things of God - most importantly our relationships with God. I’m sure I’ll do more devotionals focusing on that but a good way to start is by praying - just treating it like having regular day to day conversations.

Step 2:

Remembering who God is through it all, even in the valleys. One thing that will help us gauge an understanding of this is the context of this verse - it is written in a context of war and adversity perhaps much like what feel like you’re going through today. Whether that be a mental internal war or your fighting with reconciliation or the current pandemic is having a profound effect on you. Whatever it is - God today is urging you to remind yourself of who he is. He is our Father in heaven, he looks out for us, who gave us Jesus as the perfect example (John 3:16), who gave us the Holy Spirt who lives inside both you and me (John 14:16). He is our comforter, he is our ever present help in times of trouble.

So today, I urge you to silence everything around you, be still & focus on what God is trying to say to you. Maybe try going off socials for 30 mins and spend some quality time with God!

Today’s prayer:

Dear God, I pray that as I go along with my day that I’ll remember that you gave me the Holy Spirt to help me through my day. Allow me to be sensitive to the spirt and hear what you’re trying to say to me. I pray today is a good productive day! Thank you for all that you’re doing for me, lthank you for waking me up & most importantly thank you for being you. Today’s song of the day:

“God I look to you” - Jenn Johnson

Today’s sermon of the day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w4Y940Q7Dc&t=607s