Cabin Devotion with Miss Caroline
Hearing the Whisper in the Wind
Prayer:
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1: 3-6)
Scripture References: 1 Kings 19: 9 - 18, John 10: 1-18
Take a moment to soak in the words of these two passages. Pray for the Lord to reveal Himself to you as you dive into His word. Re-read the passages and take note of anything that stands out to you personally.
Devotional:
Sisters! I am so thankful for each of you and thrilled that we can still connect virtually this summer. You are deeply cared for and deeply loved by the Tapawingo staff, but more importantly you are a precious princess of our Father God.
A common question I come across is, “Does the Lord speak to me?” In John 10, Jesus tells us that He is the Good Shepherd and, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name.” (verse 3). Wow! Not only are we known by name, we are called by name, which ultimately means that Jesus is calling out to us! He is alive and He is speaking.
So, if He is speaking to me, how do I hear his voice? To become acquainted with His voice, we have to first become acquainted with Him and His character. The more you spend time with your friends, the easier it becomes to distinguish who is who by the sound of their voice. You get to a point in your friendship when your friend can call out from behind you and you know exactly who is on their way without turning around. The same thing can happen as we deepen our friendship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To become familiar with God we need to become familiar with his Word. In His Word we have a recording of His voice -- from the Old Testament to the New Testament. In the Old Testament He spoke through the prophets and in the New Testament we can literally read the words of Jesus. As we become more familiar with scripture we start to recognize His quiet voice (like Elijah in 1 Kings) guiding us throughout the day.
So if you don’t feel like you are hearing from the Lord, reflect a little. Are you spending time in the Word? Are you seeking first the Kingdom of God? Are you listing off a grocery list of your wants/needs as you pray or are you seeking to spend time quietly before God in your prayer time, honoring Him and recognizing His glory? Are you memorizing scripture? I encourage you to seek the Lord for the pure pleasure of being in His presence, He delights to know you and desires for your heart to abide in the shadow of his wings (Psalm 91). Make it a priority to spend time with Him and I can guarantee that your ears will be tuned to hear His voice and your heart will desire to be obedient to His will in your life.
Next steps:
● Creating a new routine can be intimidating, but it is totally doable! Listed are a couple thoughts/resources.
● Bible Project Videos: You can search “Bible Project (name of any book of the Bible)” to watch 3-5 minute videos that give you a brief overview of the content in that book of the Bible. I have found this to be very helpful as I read through the Old Testament.
● Read the Gospels!
● Read 3-4 Psalms a day and you will read through the entire book of the Psalms in about 40 days. This is a great place to see how David and other Psalmists prayed/praised/cried out to the Lord, seeking Him first in their lives.
● Give yourself grace and space to grow. Growing in friendship/relationship with the Lord is a process. Just like with your friends/family at home, you have to spend time together to get to know each other; intimacy doesn’t happen overnight.
● Ask the Lord to give you a desire to spend time with Him every day and to grow in His knowledge and insight.
Love,
Miss Caroline
