By Judy Villanueva

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;  teach me your paths.  Lead me in your truth and teach me, 
for you are the God of my salvation; 
for you I wait all the day long.  (Psalm 25:4-5)

It was one of those days.  You know the kind where you wake up and, for whatever reason, feel finished before you’ve even started?  All of the undone things that are usually entrusted to God are bubbling up at the surface of awareness.  I never quite understand the ebb and flow of faith.  Why did I feel full of faith yesterday and sorely lacking in it today?  On mornings like these,  I find it helpful to bring my angst to Jesus with a question,  “What is it You want to say to me about this, Lord?” Then I try to pay attention and follow the breadcrumbs back into His arms and to a place of peace.   Do you remember the story of Hansel and Gretel when, as they ventured out into the forest, they dropped a pathway of breadcrumbs so that they might find their way back home again?   Jesus’ voice marks our pathway home and when we ask Him to speak to us about our lives, He faithfully speaks.   We “hear” as we expect Him to speak into our ordinary days, as we pay attention, and as we follow His voice home to His heart.

Breadcrumbs.  An imperfect metaphor, at best, but useful in fashioning a picture of what it looks like to watch for God’s leadings.  What are the spiritual “breadcrumbs” that mark God’s path for us and help us discern His voice?

Believing that God is present in ALL of life helps us notice the holy crumbs that are scattered throughout our days.

God’s voice often comes to us as impressions or highlights.  He sometimes speaks to us through an emphasis, an exclamation point, or a goodness that nestles up and wraps itself around us.  He also urges us through our angst, woes and worries.  We might hear Him as we read the Word, or look out the window, as we sit with a friend or listen to a sermon.  God is speaking and His ways of reaching out to us are endless!  Noticing His voice is the first step toward discernment and moving toward it with curiosity is next!  “What do you want to say to me about this?”

It was near or about the heat of day when I felt a “nudge” to go out for walk.  A breadcrumb.  I grabbed my headphones and went, listening to worship for an hour as I hiked under the shadows of the San Juan Mountains.  So many beautiful songs blessed me and I began to notice a theme emerging.  More breadcrumbs!  I felt drawn to the stanzas that sang of God’s presence and authority over all the earth!  Each song seemed to declare that God is great and faithful, able in all things and trustworthy.  I felt invited to gather the day’s crumbs and taste the Bread that is life!  What would have seemed so ordinary to any onlooker was, for me, extraordinary and soul-filling!  What I heard as I followed the breadcrumbs was a holy whisper that loved me with these words:

“What do I want to say to you today, as you travail and wonder about your future?  I am saying that I am with you!  I will never leave you!  You have Me now and always!  I am on the throne and you, child,  can rest. Now rest.”

“Father,  thank You for Your voice of love.   Teach me the sounds of Your voice and alert me to when and where you are addressing me.  I want to hear what You want to say to me everyday.  I want to follow.  Amen.”

What about you?

What delights you?  What troubles you?

What are you drawn to in any given Bible passage that you’ve read lately?

What has caught your attention in worship, a sermon, devotional reading or in the movie you’ve just viewed?

What does God want to say to you about your life?  Have you asked Him lately?

Will you consider that God is speaking to you all day long and wants you to hear His voice?

Worship:

By Judy Villanueva

So I want you to realize that the Lord your God is God. He is the faithful God. He keeps his covenant for all time to come. He keeps it with those who love him and obey his commandments. He shows them his love. (Deuteronomy 7:9)

I once heard a delightful story of a little boy who is discovered by his mother in a barn shoveling manure.  She sees the sweat on his brow and hears the fullness of his breath as he scoops and throws manure through the air.  When she finally asks what on earth he is doing, he responds, “Where there’s manure, there is sure to be a pony!”  I love this story because it points my face at the beauty of hope!  It also makes me smile because it reminds me of my husband.  He, even in the most dismal of circumstances, keeps on shoveling convinced that a pony awaits his discovery!  I love the hope with which he engages the challenges that face him, even when he’s tired.  It is inspiring to watch a person persevere under trial with hope.  It seems to push them from behind toward their dreams.  As I think more about it, I realize that hope is more than an attitude or feeling.  

It’s a GRACE, a fountain that springs up from the reality of a Hope Giver!  

Hope lives within us, like a friend who prompts us to dream with God and catch the vision He has for our lives.  It is a light that shines in our souls, a song that wants us to remember our Faithful King.  Can you feel it?  Look around and you will see evidence of a majestic Dreamer!  Slow down and awaken to the the song that Hope sings within you.  It’s a melody of promise grounded in our promise-keeping God! There are others songs, as we all know, that intrude with sour notes on our ability to feel hopeful.  Pain and disappointment, loneliness and loss can effectively drown out our “hope songs”. 

But, HOPE LIVES, not in our power to muster a positive thought but in the heart of TRUE LOVE, our faithful God, who cannot be drowned out. 

He is the author, heartbeat and fountain — the WHO, WHAT AND HOW of hope!  So, how do we refresh our hope fountains?

Have you ever studied the names of God?  Each one is a revelation of His face and whenever we point our face at His we are joined to a powerful river of hope!  Deuteronomy 7:9 reveals a name of God only mentioned once or twice in Scripture.  

It is “Ha’El hanne’eman” and it means, “The one true God is faithful.”  

Words cannot capture the magnitude of this divine name but if I were to add a few they would be,  “ALMIGHTY, FAITHFUL, TRUSTWORTHY and TRUE.“  Stop for just a minute, and let the power of His name touch you!  Breath in, “The One True God,” Breath out, “is faithful.” And, God has more names!  His name “El Roi” means “the God who sees me”, “Yahweh shalom” means “the God of peace,”  “Jehovah Jireh” means “God, our provider,” and the  most intimate name of God, “Abba,” means “Daddy Father.”  

Hope stirs in the presence of God and becomes a flow of life inside us, but we must sit now and then, and look at His face.

How are your hopes doing?  Are they alive and  well?  Have they drifted off to sleep?  Have they been crushed or buried?  Then, get out your shovel and with God’s help, dig because there is indeed a treasure waiting to be discovered and His name is Faithful and True! (Rev.19:11) Jesus IS the beauty of hope!  Point your face at His.  Listen to His words.  Follow where He leads you.  Trust Him with all your heart.  REJOICE  because Ha’El hanne’eman is here!

“Father, your name helps me to see you better and in seeing you better I feel hopeful!  Thank you for your faithfulness and love.  Help me to point my face at yours and fill my heart with hope. Amen.”

What about you?

Do you know the Hope-Giver who hopes for you?

How are your hopes doing?  Has life beaten and buried  them?

Do you need your hope fountain refreshed?  I pray the power of Ha’El hanne’eman over your life and ask that God will help you turn your face toward His.

Dig!

Worship