7.1 Letter to my son David
I really appreciate the letters that you send me; I love hearing news about how things are going in your life. I was pleased you heard God speaking to you the other day through your friend’s sermon. Clearly God needed to communicate something with you about adjusting a few of your habits. I must say the recommendations you heard are consistent with Scripture. I advise you to proceed. Get it done.
I noted two topics in your letter we should talk about. First, we need to talk about your question on listening to God. Then we should talk about creating and using a ‘wall of truth’.
I am forever amazed at what he can do when I consciously get still inside and let
God put my attitude into the right place. He delivers.
The Remembrance… I remember in the early days of my Walk with God, his guidance seemed task related. When I heard his voice, it often occurred during my planning process for business topics, personal topics, or for church. I recall troubleshooting problems with the design of the Defense Metrological Satellite Program ground system and not being able to find a proper solution. My team was struggling, so I prayed for guidance. The Holy Spirit pointed out something I had not considered and the solution revealed itself.
Do you remember moving to Alaska? You were very young. We struggled to find suitable housing in the winter. It was so cold and difficult to get around to find a place to live driving a VW Caravan. We had no real heat in the van.
Then, out of nowhere, a temporary place appeared that we could fit into until the housing on base opened up. Once we settled on the base, I was able to walk to work rather than drive, this was an amazing blessing. All these things came from prayer, getting help to solve problems that seemed insurmountable. God always seemed to provide a door to walk through or a path to walk around the obstacle in front of us. It did not take long to trade that van off for a car with a heater.
I remember we had a neighbor who was struggling to find help from the school system for their child’s learning needs. Gradually your mother and I learned the language of educators, with help from the Holy Spirit, so we could do the right things to help our neighbor.
In time I learned about meditating on God’s word. The notion of getting still revealed many things in his heart that I needed to know to help others find their way from troubles to peace. I am forever amazed at what he can do when I consciously get still inside and let God put my attitude into the right place. He delivers. To be sure I am not always able to find that ‘sweet spot’ when meditating. But I never stop trying.
First Question — the notion of hearing God’s voice. I think to hear God speak; we have to be willing to hear God speak. I know that sounds silly but imagine walking down the street, and a perfect stranger comes up alongside you and starts telling you stuff about how you need to change the way you live. Would you be very responsive? He could be an angel. Or he could just be a deranged person who likes to hear his own voice. I think we must have our heart ready to hear God speak so we stop what we are doing and listen closely. But that is predicated on the belief that we know and desire he will talk to us. God is not given to intruding in our life without an invitation. But please, confirm the message you hear with Scripture. God is a God of truth; he will not contradict his word. During my daily reading of Scripture, I encountered the passage from Psalms below, I thought it might be helpful:
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me; the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. (Psalm 116:1-7)
Additionally, I thought this passage from Hebrews was relevant to my thoughts on prayer…
God is not given to intruding in our life without an invitation. He will not force his way upon us.
Hebrews 5:2-9 says– He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. And no one takes this honor on himself but receives it when [it is allocated] by God, just as Aaron [received]. In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered, and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him [NIV]
There are other occasions where we hear a quiet voice that we know is not our own thoughts, yet it is very personal and very intense. I recall that King David spoke about getting up in the morning and he would say to God bring me a word today, I trust you to show me what I need to do today.
In the end I believe that God honors us with regular communication when we are fully surrendered to him. Rest assured, if we stubbornly cling to our own needs and our own desires, we quite likely will get a very convoluted message that we think came from God. It is imperative that selflessness is part of our daily life if we want real messaging with clear guidance. We will get let in on the plan if we are selfless.
Second Question — the Wall of Truth. This is an odd little concept that I have found helpful over the years to organize my thoughts and to gather the ‘truths’ that I have learned from Scripture into a single location. In the old days I used my bible as a wall of truth. I scribbled stuff all over the margins, I underline stuff, I jammed papers in the covers of my bible, and I carried my bible in a little zipper satchel that also contained a myriad of disorganized notes. Now, I keep my theology notes in a directory on my hard drive specifically organized to keep this sort of material. I still struggle keeping the data on the hard drive organized…
To be sure, you could use notes in your Bible, a directory on your smartphone, or you can even use a cork bulletin board in your house. The point of the wall of truth is to establish a single depository for all things theology. I suggest you try a three-ring binder and then graduate to a hard drive directory once you have figured out the retention and access issues. Anytime you add something to the wall of truth, I suggest you take the time to review the content of your wall and ensure the new data does not contradict anything you have already identified.
Your Wall of Truth will help you keep your theology consistent and God honoring. But it needs to be a line of reasoning you can rely on, not a pile of pithy conflicting statements. Please be absolutely certain your wall of truth is built on Scripture – nothing but Scripture. This is paramount. Your wall of truth should point you to Jesus — the way, the truth, and the life.
Please be absolutely certain your wall of truth is built on scripture – nothing
but scripture. This is paramount.
I trust this provides you with some useful information, in addition to this brief response, I have included four essays from my Journal to assist with your quest to explore listening to God.
May God bless you and keep you, may he place his countenance upon you, may He give you peace.
I love you, son.
Your Father, Dan