If your house is anything like my house –- sometimes it’s incredibly loud! Kids playing and screaming, my wife preparing for guests who are frequently here, news on the television behind me and praise and worship playing in the background, then…the phone rings.

Suddenly it becomes imperative to tune everything out in order to hear the person calling.

In the same way, when we’re listening for God’s direction, we need to tune everything else out…in order to tune in!

In the above passage, God had something to say to Elijah. He first allowed some powerful and noisy manifestations; those things might have easily been mistaken for His voice. Then, a strong wind –- so strong in fact, that it tore the mountain apart right before Elijah’s very eyes. After that, an earthquake followed, and if that wasn’t enough, a fire! I would say by the time these massive events had passed, Elijah might have been a little distracted — don’t you think?

But the Lord wasn’t in any of them.

Then, God spoke to Elijah…. in a still, small, voice.

I believe that God still speaks in that still small voice today. But are any of us able to hear Him with all the craziness around us? It is so necessary to tune out the noise so we can hear Him! When God has our full attention, not only can we come to know Him better, but we can receive the direction we’ve been longing for!

Last night, we went to the grocery store (now, a major family affair, lol). Riv was shopping with Obi in one hand and the cart in the other, while I had care of Elianna and a little friend of hers. And these two energetic little girls kept me on my toes, I tell you. They were running ahead of me the entire time — I could barely keep up! Finally, at one point, I couldn’t see them anymore. A minute or two went by and I nervously, I called out, “Elianna! You’d better not run ahead of Daddy — you’ll get lost! And there thankfully, she appeared. “Now, come hold Daddy’s hand, I said, and we’ll walk together!”

As soon as those words left my mouth, my heart dropped to my stomach as I heard in my Spirit, the Lord say, “Ahem!” Here, I was giving instruction to my little one, and realized my Abba has been calling me this way for quite some time.

How many times have we run ahead of God and gotten ourselves lost? Is the Lord calling you today? We need to be close to our Abba, not running ahead but walking with Him, hand and hand. Let’s run to Him and determine to stay real close! There’s so much work to be done!

Moses was used mightily by the Lord, yet we all know he had his inadequacies and limitations too. Still he was the vessel through which God chose to work through as He carried out the plagues over Egypt, divided the Red Sea and miraculously led and fed the children of Israel for forty years. That’s pretty big stuff. Can you imagine having to be Moses’ successor after all that? That’s exactly what Joshua had to do. I can’t even begin to imagine what Joshua was thinking at the time — How can I possibly live up to Moses? But the Lord comforts and reassures Joshua and says, “as I was with Moses, so I will be with you!”

Those words for Joshua are also for us today. You know why? All the men and women who have done great things for the Lord were just ordinary men and women — with a great God. The same God who walked with Moses, Elijah, Daniel and all the great men and women of God — is with us today! Not only is He with us, He is FOR us too!

Let’s walk in confidence! God is with us! He will never leave us nor forsake us! In His presence and with His power, let’s expect to do great things for the Kingdom today! God loves to show off his supernatural power through us ordinary people! There’s so much work to be done!

While on the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Saul, blinded him and directed him to go to Damascus. There, God spoke to Ananias of Saul and told to lay hands on this troubled man. Ananias did as he commanded and Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit, healed of his blindness and immediately baptized.

In another instance, while Cornelius was praying, God sent an angel to tell him “Go and find Peter and he shall tell you what you need to do.” Cornelius, along with his household and friends, did what he commanded, and God used Peter to bring them all into the Kingdom!

God could have easily brought both Saul and Cornelius into the Kingdom without the intervention of any believer – but that was not His plan. He used Ananias, Peter and countless others to finish what He had already started!

In the same way, God wants to include us in His plans! He has been speaking to people in our families, neighborhoods, offices and everywhere else we go! He has been drawing them gently and He wants us to be a part of their salvation!

God still speaks to his people, does he not? And we are his sheep and know His voice, do we not? Let’s start being used by the Lord for His great purposes — let’s be open to hearing His direction! There’s so much work to be done!

One of the more neglected commandments of the Lord among us is to test all things to see if they are of Him. In Revelation, John spoke of a number of churches that were influenced by the enemy. It’s no mystery that satan loves to infiltrate the body and spread confusion!

Many of us don’t realize that in this age, where spiritual deception is running rampant, we have actually been given the Spirit of Truth! But here’s a question. Do we ask the Spirit of Truth to guide us?

We need to be on guard! We need to test everything fervently! Let’s ask our Friend, the Spirit of Truth, to guide us and keep us on the straight and narrow path. There’s so much work to be done!