By Karen Toney
Women’s Ministry Coordinator
I was out on cross-country trails not long ago, doing my version of exercise. I usually take headphones or some other way to keep my mind occupied, but that morning my goal was different. I wanted to designate that time to pray. As I finished up, I heard the bells toll from the Davidson College Presbyterian Church tower. And I thought how odd. Not odd that they were chiming, but odd at how clear they were and I even noticed them.
And these thoughts came to me. Those bells are like God’s voice in my life. Those bells go off twice an hour, every day. Yet, so many times, I don’t even notice them. Maybe I’m too busy. Maybe my mind is too full of junk to make room for the sound and beauty. Or maybe I’m not listening for them. And it came to me ; That is God’s voice in my life. Is it He’s not there or I just don’t hear Him? Just because I don’t hear the bells, doesn’t mean they aren’t ringing. Just because I don’t “hear” God, doesn’t mean He’s not speaking to me.
Scripture says He will never leave us nor forsake us. That He is an ever-present help in our time of need. He is our Strong Tower and Mighty Fortress. And yet, we can’t seem to hear Him. Is that your reality? You pray, and yet, still suffer. You seek the Lord, and the pain is still there in the morning. You ask God for direction, and the silence is deafening. You feel He’s quiet and sometimes He is, but are you really listening for Him? Are you afraid of the answer He might give you? Are you tuning Him in? A friend calls it “dialing God in on the dial”. Instead of tuning into W-CRAP, we should dial our minds to W-GOD. Ok, really goofy I know. But it’s more true to me every day. God does speak to us. Why can we not hear Him? Are you listening? Are you looking for Him in the wind and the earth quakes? Or are you finding Him in that still small voice?
Today, are you hearing the church bells for the first time? What are they saying to you? Is He showing you something? Is it for you or for someone else in your life? Does it seem crazy? Does it matter? Don’t fear what others will think. God gave me a vision of mushrooms once; mushrooms and secrets. I knew it had to be from God because it was just so darn crazy. And that word was for my church. It took me 2 months to get up the courage to share it. But the great thing was it was from God, because people came up to me afterwards and said it spoke to their heart. YEAH!!!!!
God speaks to us through His Word. And sometimes, He uses us, His Body, to speak to each others. Does He want you to call someone and encourage him or her today? Has someone been on your heart, and you just don’t know why? It’s when we look outside ourselves and our own circumstances (which are hard, and ugly, difficult and yes, even cumbersome) and reach out to others that God’s heart is shared. His heart for the lost, the lonely and the tired. What are the bells you never noticed dying telling you?
I encourage you all, no matter where you are in your walk, to stop and listen for the tower bells, and hear what God wants to speak to you today. He loves you so much He sent His only Son, to be the sin offering for us all. He can’t love you any more than He already does, and He refuses to Love you any less. He wants to become real to you. He wants to be more than just words on a page, or a building you walk into once a week. He wants to be alive and real IN you and THROUGH you. I thank the Father that He wants real relationship with all of us and He will pursue us until it comes to fruition.
