There are a thousand things whispering at you right now. There is a voice from the freezer, speaking the language of ice cream, saying 'Come and eat me!' There is the voice of the urgent, of the deadlines, crying out for you to hurry more, to push harder, to strive more, to try and keep up because you're falling behind. There may be the voices of children crying out in need, or parents asking for something. There is the voice of your boss, directing you. And there's another voice, a deeper voice, that whispers in the dark of the night, telling you that you're not good enough, that you've not done enough, that you'll never be enough (or is that just me that hears those whispers?). These voices each whisper (ok, the children haven't yet learned how to whisper, but work with me here), and together the voices collect like the waves of the ocean, crashing upon the beachheads we've worked so hard to establish, pulling us back into the watery chaos, and leave us gasping for breath on the shore.
There is another voice, a deeper voice, one that speaks across the ages and whose voice resonates from eternity to eternity. It is the creative voice that formed you out of nothing and has called you back from the depths. This voice cries out to you and says 'O afflicted one, there is chaos behind you but beauty before you, so fear not, afflicted one, for I have made you and redeemed you and in my realm there shall be precious gems on the walls and precious peace in your heart and in the hearts of your children. O afflicted one, the battle is not yours to fight, for the whispers that rage like a storm shall be banished like the night when the sun begins to rise. O afflicted one, the smith labors to make all things ready for the final blow that will vanquish the enemies that rise against you. O afflicted one, the voices that tempt you to despair shall be silenced, for greater is my voice that assures you that life shall prevail, that hope is not in vain, and that the truth is that you are precious, beloved, and free.'
In whatever chaos crashes against your shores today, I pray that you hear God's voice, and that you know the power behind the voice that calls you by name. In so many ways, we are each afflicted, and yet in the greatest way possible, we are free in Christ.
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