Satellite Radio...

I first started listening to Satellite Radio toward the end of 2014 when Piper and I purchased our Mustang GT convertible.  The car was equipped with a satellite antenna and receiver and because of the novelty of it, we decided to try it out and subscribed for the Sirius XM car and home internet package.

Well… it didn’t take me long to see the value of it as it made available a huge variety of music stations, with almost every genre of music available, a broad range of news/talk radio and coverage of just about any professional sports game throughout their various seasons of the year.  SiriusXM also offers live and/or recorded coverage of a wide scope of musical concerts, special events, religious programing and even the live audio for many of the major TV news networks.

A major perk for me was the ability to listen to the stations that I enjoy as I travel about in my car, without the typical fading in and out of the terrestrial AM/FM radio stations.  During the different times I drove from state to state, I was amazed and comforted to know that I could listen to the same station the whole way… or for that matter… to any station that I desired and then be able to flip back to my favorite station, and enjoy the same, strong, consistent reception.

And speaking of enjoying the ‘same, strong and consistent reception,’ I came across a couple of verses that seemed to confirm my thoughts… not only for life in the natural realm, but also in the furtherance of my daily spiritual life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages us to,

“Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; (and) don't try to figure out everything on your own. (but instead,) Listen (intently and even intimately) for God's VOICE in everything you do, (and in) everywhere you go; (for) He's the One who will keep you on track.” (MSG/TPT personalized) 

The idea of listening intently and even intimately to the VOICE of the Lord from these modern translations definitely arrested my attention.  The more traditional King James Version says “In all thy ways acknowledge” the Lord.  And a quick look at the definition of “ACKNOWLEDGE” in both the Hebrew and Greek informs us that this word is a direct derivative of the Greek word “ginosko” which speaks of having an ‘intimate’ and deeply personal relationship with the VOICE (ie; wisdom) of the Lord!

So… with the thought of intimately listening to His VOICE in “everything we do and in everywhere we go,” I was immediately reminded of a section of Old Testament scripture when the Lord was speaking with Elijah the Prophet and instructed him to go and stand on the top of a mountain.  And thereby… Elijah obeyed… expecting to receive a clear word from the Lord… climbed up the mountain and was immediately inundated with hurricane force winds, that were followed by an earthquake, to which the scripture states that the Lord was not to be found in any of those things… but the natural disasters didn’t stop there as the next verse declares:

“And after the earthquake a FIRE, but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire (finally -whew!) a STILL SMALL VOICE.” (KJV / I Kings 19:11-12)

Over the years, I have personally gotten to know that “STILL SMALL VOICE” of the Holy Spirit speaking to me from the depths (or ‘BOTTOM’*) of my heart quite well!  But it didn’t happen overnight.  I’ve learned from my older teenage years through today, that familiarity with that VOICE increases in degrees the more we “intently and intimately LISTEN” and obey it!

For me it began as a familiar VOICE that I heard coming from somewhere deep inside me the very first week Piper and I started dating, when I heard (or rather “sensed”) it say, “This girl is special and you need treat her with respect and honor… and protect her innocence.”

It was a friendly, familiar but yet gently authoritative VOICE that yes, I had heard before… but in reality… had NO idea who or what it was… just taking for granted, that it was the gentlemanly example of respect, honor and love that my dad always exhibited toward my mom! 

But it was not only that… it was much more!  Through the ensuing months and years, I entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and became increasingly more and more familiar and intimately knowledgeable of that VOICE as the VOICE of the Lord… speaking softly, gently and yet authoritatively to my spirit on the inside of me.

Now… you’ll notice in our verses from I Kings 19:11-12, that when the Lord instructed Elijah to go up to the top of a mountain, Elijah did not immediately get the clear and concise word of direction that he was expecting.  In fact, he got the opposite as he faced all kinds of natural, noisy, destructive and distractive catastrophes before he finally tuned in to the Lord’s STILL, SMALL VOICE speaking to him.

It is pretty clear that listening for and being able to tune in and hear the VOICE of the Lord takes an ever-increasing familiarity with His VOICE and the ability to not be distracted from the things that will try to make us not hear or incorrectly hear and discern His wisdom and/or instruction to us.

Jesus gives us an example of having and ever-increasing familiarity with His VOICE, when a blind man with whom He had healed, came back and inquired of Jesus saying,

“Sir, tell me who He is so that I can believe in him.” (John 9:36 / God’s Word ©)

And Jesus replied, (This response hit me as a somewhat humorous answer… who says Jesus doesn’t have a sense of humor…):

"You're looking right at Him. Don't you recognize My VOICE?" (John 9:37 / MSG)

I’m pretty sure that the healed man’s life changed that day, after his introduction to the man behind the VOICE of his healing.  I would imagine that he made it a point to hear and become a lot more familiar with that VOICE over the following years of his life… and in turn, be a walking and talking, fervently vocal disciple of Jesus, spreading the word of that VOICE in everything he did and in everywhere he went.*  And you know… that’s exactly the person that I believe God wants you and me to become!

But be aware… One thing that I have noticed since listening to Satellite Radio is that now that I’ve had it for a few years… it is easy for me to tune it out as simply background noise… with all the distractions around me in the house or car… due to its ‘same, strong and consistent reception!” 

I tended to be more alert to and aware of the music or talk that was coming from the radio when I was listened to the old terrestrial AM/FM radio stations… with their occasional atmospheric static and loss of reception.  When the program got fuzzy, I would take immediate notice and attempt to fine tune the frequency so that I could hear it better… 

Humm… I betcha that I sometimes do the same thing when God is trying to speak to me… and my familiarity and level of comfort with His VOICE causes me to lose the urgency of staying tuned in to His VOICE… What about you?

Have a great week and weekend ahead.  We’ve been under Extreme Heat Warnings for a week or so… but it broke yesterday with a high forecast of only 87… PHEW – PTL! 

But… out here one always needs to stay alert to sudden weather changes… like the potential of a stray TORNADO tonight that I just heard about! 

I pray that your weather is pleasant so that you can go out and enjoy nature while sharing your knowledge and intimate relationship with the VOICE of God with those around you!

 

 

*See Proverbs 3:5-6 above…