Day 5 - The Hurricane and The Still, Small Voice

There are times in life when everything we take for granted gets swept up in the hurricane that comes and rides over our homes, our families and our lives. One minute, everyone is celebrating, partying and enjoying life, yet in an instance, all that suddenly changes. There is no time to put the battens on the window. There is no time to tie down our business or our community. Suddenly we’re all alone, needing to face devastation that we could never imagine.

Many have been at the receiving end of hurricanes before. Many have had to pick up their lives and begin again. We see pictures of them and the aftermath of the storms, but after a few days, the news cameras move on to something more exciting happening in a different part of the world.

However, the ones damaged in some way by the force of the winds, have no manual about how to begin again. All they can do is to take one day at a time and hope that by the end of the day, they will have put something of worth in place in their lives that wasn’t there the day before.

They need to trust the giver of each day that he will provide something of real worth to them that day. They just need to be led, which means listening to that still, small voice within them guiding them into life and truth. That means calming and stilling one’s mind. The still, small voice will not shout louder. So, it must be adhered to with quiet, stillness, patience and silence. Without the guide, each day’s choices will remain fraught. With that voice, there will be great peace at our centres and we will know that we are never alone.

So, over the coming weeks and months, learn to be still. Learn to stop and wonder. But most of all really learn to listen. If you are a talker, learn to have quiet parts of the day. You will not be able to talk your way into deep, meaningful insights and answers. Other people will not have the answers for you. Only the one who lives within you and loves you more than life itself.

Learn to listen. Learn to discern. Learn to hear that still small voice. Learn that it can be trusted, whatever the day brings.

What prevents you from listening to that still small voice?

Invite that still, small voice of God into your day and ask that your day be guided, for both your good and the good of others. Listen carefully. You might get a picture. You may feel prompted to visit or phone a friend. A certain book, podcast or song might pop into your head. Record today what you sensed and where you were directed.

At the end of the day, give thanks for something good which came from listening to and being guided by that voice.