Expecting A Shout, When A Whisper Is All You Need

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him." Romans 12:1(NLT)

By Alexandra Copeland

We can’t be certain of this, but it seems that never before has there been a more urgent need to hear from Heavenly Father than now. In Old Testament times, it was God’s good pleasure and practice to speak intimately with prophets. They were handpicked by Him to convey His Word to His people. Heavenly Father did this to demonstrate and communicate His desire to protect them and to take care of their needs. He reached out to them, and did so at a time when arguably they were least interested in pursuing His heart. God’s desire for intimacy with us has not changed. In truth, those of us living today can have even a greater expectation of God’s willingness to communicate with us. 

In Romans 16:25, the Apostle Paul tells us the revelation of the great mystery was hidden since the beginning of the world. It is Christ in us, the hope of Glory! It is the reality that all of us can have the Spirit of Christ abiding within us. We’re the hope of his glory. He loves us so much, and he is always rooting for us to grow up into him more fully, so that we can fulfill the hope of his calling. Those living in Old Testament times did not understand this mystery. The prophets knew bits and pieces of it, but they were not able to put it all together.

This revelation is so awesomely tremendous that it probably would have blown their socks off. They knew of the promised Messiah, the King who would come to earth, but they didn’t know the full landscape of what he would make available. You and I, and all who were born after the finished work of Christ, have access to this promise. We are partakers of the New Covenant that Jesus Christ ushered in when he made the infilling of the Holy Spirit available to us. Because of him, we are joint heirs, and his adopted brothers and sisters through the Spirit. 

This is so absolutely amazing that it is impossible to demonstrate our gratitude for such a gift. The most that we can do to convey our thanks for what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ is to present ourselves a living sacrifice to Him, as it says in Romans 12:1. Heavenly Father has given us so much. Ephesians 1:3 says that He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings. We are packed to the brim and oozing over with good spiritual stuff. If we lived ten thousand years, we still would not scratch the surface of our full capability through Jesus Christ. 

Too many of us today operate as if we don’t know the scope of our spiritual capacity. It is almost as if we are waiting for God to shout it so loud that we have no other choice but to move. The truth is that God isn’t in the habit of shouting. There is no doubt that we desperately need to hear from Him. We need Him to show up and show out in our personal circumstances big time, but taking a posture of passivity or crossing our arms and waiting isn’t going to work for us. 

Jesus Christ told us in Luke 12:48, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required;” Those of us living in this day and time have access to more plurality and abundance than those living at any other time in documented history. And the Big Kahuna of this is the immeasurable spiritual goodies that God has luxuriously poured out on us. Acts 2:17(NLT) says, “‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.” This is the Word of the Lord. If God says it, it must be so. 

The manifestation of speaking a prophetic Word from God, or accomplishing all the other extraordinary things of which we are totally capable, is not just for a choice few. God has lavishly poured out His Spirit upon ALL people. He’s the Great Giver, and all we have to do is receive what He has doled out to us by trusting His Word. All of us can begin to walk with power and reign in our own lives. But more than this, we can begin to show others God’s heart in ways that really speak to their needs. This is what God’s love is all about. People are hurting today, and they need us to show them that God would never forget about them. He loves them just as He loves us. 

The truth is that too many of us are waiting, and not enough of us are moving out with the boldness of God’s love. We’ve already been empowered, yet, we are waiting for something more to happen. Some of us are more interested in hearing from a prophet or a preacher than receiving that Word through the indwelling Holy Spirit for ourselves. God desires that we grow in confidence regarding our own ability to hear from and be guided directly by Him.

 

We might see or hear about someone in need. We may need information pertaining to a situation that we’re dealing with in our personal lives, or maybe we need direction about an important decision. We should never forget that the definitive Word of God, the Holy Bible, is the highest authority. The indwelling Holy Spirit will remind us of God’s Word, and he will guide us into opportunities to both be a blessing and receive one. Often, he does so with a whisper, and if we’ll spend time communing with God through the Holy Spirit, we’ll hear it. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.