It’s audio devo day!
Worried about whether you will recognize it when God is speaking to you? In today’s episode, we discuss the process of becoming intimately familiar with His voice… it boils down to practice! Rest assured, you WILL grow into it. I am praying that our Father would download something extra special to your heart today as you listen here:
(Blessed by this? Know someone else that needs to hear it today? You can either share today’s blog link with them, or look up my Feeding on Jesus podcast for sharing and subscribing. You’ll find it at these links on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and most other podcast platforms, with episodes identical to these audio devos!)
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How has God reassured you that you are hearing from Him, on your growth journey getting to know His voice?
Feeding On Jesus 
https://capost2k.wordpress.com/2016/10/02/what-are-you-listening-for/ covers this same theme. ❤️&🙏, c.a.
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This was so good! Thank you so much for sharing it with me/us 🙂
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Thank you so much for this. It really blessed me hearing about that step from the lamb following its Mama to following the Good Shepherd. It’s always been a question in the back of my head: but how could I have run away from you, if I was your sheep. But I was just like that lamb. I trusted my Mama more than I did Jesus. And Mamas aren’t perfect like Jesus: we mess up and so when our kids follow us when we are blinded in sin that has disastrous consequences. But praise God His grace is big enough for us Mamas in our weakness and our kids. I love my Mama even more now because of what I went through: God dug out my human love and trust of my parents (which was a clinginess) and gave me back His love and trust for the Father which has filled me with a much deeper love for my parents than I ever had.
But your picture of that little lamb just completes what God has been showing me. I am so thankful to God for you, Jennifer.
As to your question: I asked Him on Sunday what He wanted me to receive from Him. He said: “My kindness, Anna” and He led me to the Hebrew Word “hesed” and about how God’s hesed chooses the longer path of more fruit and not the easy, short route that is less painful but bears less fruit. It talked about Ruth choosing Naomi over her own family and kinsmen and I cried and cried because about a year ago we planned to move home to New Zealand but when we announced it to my MIL and FIL my MIL collapsed in grief. We decided to stay, as when I prayed about it, I felt God asking me to surrender my desire for His. And I have seen such fruit already in that decision. It’s not been easy but I know it is so of God.
Reading that helped me better understand God’s kindness to me in choosing the longer path for me that had me walk through a long Prodigal journey but gave me what I asked Him for as a little girl: a deeper knowing of His grace.
Well: the next day, guess what dropped into my inbox? A testimony about “hesed” love that uprooted a lie I have struggled to release: that I am too much, too intense. In that testimony the writer spoke of her thinking that too and how her husband reminded her (Ann Voskamp) what their Israeli tour guide had said about the greatest commandment:
“Listen. In the original Hebrew,” our guide had said. “Jesus quotes the most important prayer to God’s people, the Shema: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart—with all your feelings and affections—and with all your soul—with all your life-breath, your whole self—and with all your very, very, much. With all your very muchness.’ Me’od—muchness.”
Our Messianic Jewish teacher, Arie, had smiled.
“Love the Lord your God with all your very, very much.”
Well, today I know why He led me there. Our kitten was run over and killed this morning. He knows how I have learnt to press away pain to not feel so intensely and how that has stopped His comfort from reaching me. The Words He had given me for today was: “comfort” and “nearness” and I had prayed for Him to help me draw near to Him. Guess what two Scriptures He sent me:
Verse of the day on my Bible app:
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18 ESV
NIV verse of the day in my email inbox:
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” JOHN 14:1-3
I cried and cried and cried because I could so see He was making His nearness so palpable to me. Some will say it’s only a cat but God knows how deeply I loved him and how much he loved me and kept coming to curl up on me and seek my love. And He knows how heartbroken I am for my girls who loved him so so so much too. He cares about every tiny detail of our life and to have you speak of your kitten too felt like another “I see you.”
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Aw, I am so deeply sorry for the loss of your kitty. I believe with all my heart that he is in heaven and you will get to enjoy him for eternity. I absolutely get the profound, intense feelings around his passing. I really do.
Also, how absolutely precious, all the ways that He spoke to you and affirmed you. I am taking note of that Ann Voskamp quote. Do you still have that email? I would be glad to see the whole thing. I have read other things by her and always enjoyed them. I have a friend who I know would be blessed by it, who has told me that she has struggled with the same accusation from the enemy of being “too much.” I would like to send it to her, if you still have it.
One other thought: are you familiar with Jim Goll? He has a pretty recent book called The Feeler. It comes to mind as something that would be a great resource for you, about how God created certain individuals to feel deeply, on purpose, because it’s a specific spiritual gift set. I bet it would bless you!
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Thank you so much, Jennifer. Yes, I have that deep sense in my heart also. I actually think He was God’s gift to turn our eyes to heaven. He’s awakening so much of Himself in my girls (and my husband and I) through this all.
I have emailed you the newsletter to forward to your friend. Give her a hug from me.
That sounds like a great book by Jim Goll! Thanks for the recommandation. I will check it out.
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You are welcome, my friend! You’ll have to let me know what you think of it. My friend was really blessed by that newsletter too, thank you again for that. And once again I am catching up with my blog comments! Seems like it’s been harder than usual this year to keep up with everything on my plate. But I trust that Daddy orchestrates it all perfectly. “There is a time for everything,” I hold onto that 🙂
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God works through it all. His timing is indeed perfect. I think He’s perpetually humbling us in that timing of His also to loosen the heavy yoke to receive His light yoke.
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Amen, yes He is! And how freeing it is 😉
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And BTW I downloaded the free part of the book this morning because I felt God’s prompting to go there. It was perfect timing as I was able to share a portion of it with a dear friend as we chatted and prayed this morning. I had forgotten about it until you replied – and your reply was surely God’s perfect timing and grace 😉😘
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Oh good! I’m so glad 🙂
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