I took a short flight to Cape Town from Jo-burg. The engines hummed as the airplane taxied to the run way, while I page through the in-flight magazine. An article on circus clowns keeps my mind idle long enough to pass the seemingly endless wait for take-off. Doesn’t it always feel like planes take too long to take off, or doesn’t it always feel like queues are moving to slow? Why can’t I be alone by myself, why do we fill the quietness with noise, ANY kind of noise! We just can’t stand to be quite (in our minds).
The flight goes by fairly quickly as I finish every article that seems even remotely interesting. Humans of the 21st century fill every void with any available information, and we have an endless stock pile of opinionated information available. It quiets our fears of hearing something when there is nothing. We are afraid of hearing our conscious, or our failures, or fears or some hurtful comment someone once said about you. And we are afraid of hearing God, or not hearing God (that might even be worse).
I read through an extract of the Father heart of God by Floyd Mc Clung, I read it more for preparation for training in Jbay than for hearing God speaking to me. (Ps. I do recommend reading this book)
I need to fill the void!
I fall asleep, I wake up, I read some more. I ponder a thought that stuck with me the last few weeks.
Identity comes from the affirming words of the Father, Ministry starts from identity. No Godly work comes from a desire to have identity, but rather from the realization of the identity that God has already given me.
So how do I hear the affirming words of my Father above the words of guilt, fear and mistrust?
The plane starts to descend as we approach Cape Town. I put my papers down and look out the window. The breathtaking mountains fill my little airplane window. I think back on all the places I have seen on Global challenge, the beauty of the coral reefs in the red sea, the castles of Portugal, the volcanoes of Guatemala and the opal blue lake Atitlan, the all inspiring beauty of the mountains on the Tibetan plateau, the rich forests of Siberia, the beaches of Thailand, the fireworks of Disneyland, the jungles of Vietnam, the rivers of India.
And I silently ask God “Lord which is the places you find most beautiful? Where do you love to be?”
And like a gush of wind my spirit is filled with this revelation:
God loves His people the most; we are the pinnacle of His creation and the object of His affection. All of Calvary was for us. God loves to be with us. I look next to me at the empty seat. God loves to be with me. “You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”.
“Do you mean that you REALLY love me?”
“YES”
“You were here all along?”
“YES”
“You care for me, right?”
“YES”
Ex 34:7 says that God is Merciful, Slow to anger, Gracious, abounding in love and faithfulness!
I cannot hear His voice if I don’t not know His heart.
O by the gracious act of Christ on Calvary, He loves me beyond my ability. He loves me by the blood.
Let the void be filled by His tender affirmation.
If you are reading this blog as a way to fill the void, please put your computer off, humble yourself before God and ask Him if He loves you. Think of Christ paying the wages of sin on that cross, defeating death and living His live in you as you surrender to Him. Hear the voice of the Father whom is well pleased in you, His beloved child.