Positioned to Listen

READ
Acts 16:8-10

CONSIDER
After two "no's," Paul finally gets a "yes." Paul didn't stop when God said no. He didn’t turn back. He didn’t give up. He kept moving toward the coast until God made the direction clear in a special way. While Paul slept, God gave him a vision that was so clear and compelling that the whole team packed up and went to the place God had shown Paul. 

God rarely shouts. More often, He speaks in the quiet moments of the "night"—those times when we quiet the chaos in our minds and around our lives - those times are are actually able to be still before the Lord and just listen.

In His grace, God speaks to everyone, everywhere. BUT, if you’re not positioned to listen, you won’t be able to hear Him. Total surrender means being "available" even when we don't have His whole plan in front of us.

Paul doesn’t know what he will find in Macedonia; he just knows who is sending him, and that is enough.

REFLECT
Holiness isn't a static state; it’s a responsive relationship. To be "set apart" means your ears are tuned to a different frequency. As we grow closer to Jesus, we become more sensitive to his voice. As we will see later this week, tuning into that different frequency can lead to a life changed forever.

Have you ever had a dream that you knew, in the moment or later, was a message from God? In our culture, it can feel weird to say God spoke to you in a dream, but He definitely still does. What was that dream? How did it play out in real life?

If you haven’t, think of another time God showed you His plan for you. How did he show up? What did you take away from it?

PRAY
Jesus, quiet my mind today. Help me hear your voice and mobilize me to take your message to the places I live, learn, work, and play. Give me courage when those places are not where I would normally expect to go. Amen.