Hey there princess!
About three years ago, my mother and I attended a women's Bible study where we read literature and watched videos about the story of Gideon by Priscilla Shirer. That Bible study changed my life and the way that I have been interacting with God's word, so I was thrilled this past Christmas morning to open Priscilla's new book, 'Awaken' and her new devotional, "Discerning the Voice of God.' I highly encourage you to purchase both of these (click here to be directed to Lifeway for purchase).
These two devotionals are all about listening to God's voice and taking His direction in your life. I would absolutely love to go through these with you, so please leave a comment below with your thoughts on this week's portion of the study. I would love to hear from you.
This week, in 'Awaken' we learned about taking time to spend with God. How can you hear what He has to say if you don't take the time to sit down and chat with Him? I don't know about you, but I have never been able to keep a consistent 'quiet time' where I am able to sit and read my Bible and just be with the Lord uninterrupted.
Usually, in the evenings I try to focus on time with God, but if I'm honest, I'm a morning person. I tend to be most effective before lunch, and several times a week, I'm so exhausted by the time I come home from work that I just fall straight to sleep. 'Awaken' has encouraged me to pursue time with the Lord in the morning.
In 'Discerning the Voice of God,' we got a lot more specific about the cost o living a God-centered life. Shirer focuses on the story of Abraham obeying God's command to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham not only obeys God's command, but he is also makes intentional preparations so that he would be unhindered in his task.
What I learned from this was that not only do I need to be more intentional with obeying God's commands in my life, but I also have to accept that doing so can and will require sacrifice and discomfort on my part.
The Bible is full to the brim of God requiring his people to make sacrifices in His name (most notably in Jesus' ultimate sacrifice on the cross). However, this is always followed by abundant blessing.
How is God speaking to you this week? Have you ever had to make a sacrifice, however big or small, so that you could obey the will of God?
