A text message from God

I wanted needed to hear from God and no I did not want to read my Bible or pray;

I longed to hear the audible voice of God. The truth is, I was a little mad at God so I quit speaking to Him. For crying out loud, I did A plus B times six to infinity and it all added up to zero, or maybe some big fat negative number. Is this what I get? If I did all the stuff, why didn’t God intervene and rescue me?

I stomped around and let some of the bile in my heart, leak out of my mouth. Instead of feeling bad about it, I wiped it with the back of my hand rather satisfied at my mastery of sarcasm.

Yes, I knew I should pray and I tried. Really I did, but I couldn’t. I didn’t feel like it. Usually that doesn’t stop me, but literally I felt like I couldn’t pray. Yet, I wanted Him to come find me anyway and He heard the unspoken longing of my heart.

He told me what to do and I did it, for a long time. A really long time. In the end, it didn’t seem to matter, so I was a little put out. Yet in my heart, I still desired to hear His voice. I never imagined it would come in a text message.

Psalm 119:145, “I call with all my heart, answer me, Lord. I will obey Your statues.” HCSB

Obey

Oh yeah, that word – obedience. Separated from God, I finally admitted my own sin was the road block between us. Looks like He clams up too when we walk off and ignore His gentle beckonings to come home. Leaving my structured prayer journal in the house, I went out to the porch, which is kinda like my own personal confessional. My intention was to admit my area of blatant disobedience, but the result was communion. The real kind.

Psalm 51:7, “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” NLT

After I returned to His loving arms, I poured out my heart,

God, You are enough. You are. But sometimes I just need a little skin I can touch and a voice I can hear.”

The spiritual realm is as real as the physical. But God…. I live in the physical and sometimes I need more. Navigating His word, I pulled out my secret weapon – the index cards. Good thing, because I was headed straight into a fight. You’d think I’d know by now I can’t saunter into enemy territory. Every time I take a radical stand for Christ, the devil waylays me and he planned an ambush in a place I never expected.

The audible voice of God in a text message

On the way home from the battle on my home turf, I felt victorious, dissatisfied, confused. Then God texted me. Okay, not really God, but one of His kids. Every day since we met three years ago, she texts me a Bible verse. At this very moment she texted me,

“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.” Matthew 5:4 MSG

Needing some skin

I phoned a friend and invited myself into her spacious kitchen. Her very presence calmed me and her words were simple truths. Jesus with skin on. Instantly, I felt so much better. God heard me, saw my pain and spoke to me out loud. He always speaks through his word and today he used a text message and a godly friend. But His generosity continued. Before I went to bed, He tucked me in.

Climbing under the comforter, I got a goodnight kiss from the Lord through a message from someone I don’t know all that well. Every word hit the mark. Only divine inspiration could explain the accuracy of the prayer she had prayed for me precisely during my morning encounter with the enemy. One last reminder of God’s love before I went to sleep. And I slept in complete peace.

Psalm 120:1, “I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.” NLT

When you are left wanting, go to the only source of satisfaction.

If you’d like to get to know my verse texting friend, she created a unique, short daily audio devotion. Click here to visit her site.

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