The Whisper

Friday, July 8, 2016
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1 Kings 19:11b-12 – Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. (NIV)

I was so pleased with my flower baskets and how they were coming along. The vibrant colours brightened up the front and side of the house so nicely. Although I had somewhat begrudged the money that they had cost me, I was delighted with the end result. So you can imagine my shock and dismay when I went out to hop into my van the other day and discovered that I had not a flower left!

Every one of my baskets of glorious blooms had been chomped down to within an inch of its life. I felt the beginnings of smoke smouldering in both of my ears as I concluded what had happened. Those ungrateful, mischievous goats just couldn't be satisfied with grazing on the abundance of wildflowers, green leaves, and other munchies on the property. No, they had to partake of my specially purchased and lovingly tended flower baskets.

My day, which had begun so well, now felt ruined by the goats' munching and crunching antics. I felt so angry, so very, very angry — so angry, in fact, that I began contemplating throwing a neighbourhood barbecue, and I'm sure that you can guess what the main course would include.

And then, God's whisper within my mind reminded me that they were only flowers, and that the goats had only done what goats had been created to do, so why was I so angry? And furthermore, if I cared to look around, I would see literally thousands of flowers on my property: pink wild roses, deep purple lupine, glowing sunny Arnica, tiny delicate bluebells, and a dainty, white-and-lavender species that I have yet to name, all of which not only didn't need any care from me, but also had not cost me even one single, hard-earned penny.

His gentle, quiet voice within my thoughts, and my choice to embrace His truth with praise and thanksgiving for His bounty, which lay right there at my doorstep, diffused my anger, causing my ruined day to once again become the great day that He had created.

Today, perhaps you, too, might end up with a disappointment or an event which threatens to turn God's good day into a bad one. If so, take a moment and listen for the whisper: His still, small, quiet voice within you, which has the ability to reveal a different view of the situation, a view which has the power to turn the negative into a positive.

Prayer: Father God, thank You that Your insight into the events of our lives, be they large or small, is always a positive viewpoint, for it is always truth. Open the ears of our hearts to be attentive to Your whisper — Your still, small, quiet voice — which has the power to turn the ruined into the glorious. In the wonderful name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Lynne Phipps <lynnephippsatlin@gmail.com>
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada

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1 Comment

  • PresbyCan Feedback says:

    Very good as usual.


    That’s a beautiful truth! Thank you.


    Let the whispering small voice minister to you this day. Amen.


    Thanks, Lynne. I love your goat stories!
    Blessings.


    Thank you Lynne for yet another wonderful and meaningful devotion. The Lord has certainly blessed you with the gift of writing Devotionals.
    God bless.


    Lynne, once again I believe you had me in mind with its lesson to be learned… and in one place or so it made me chuckle. I won’t add a syllable of my own except to say, “Thank you, friend.”


    Hi Lynne…
    The mischievous antics of your ‘animal children’ are always entertaining, but also educational. Thank you for continually sharing your analogies with us!


    Thanks Lynne for this reminder to be thankful. Could the unknown wild flower be Foxglove? Lovely and delicately tinted blooms, but poisonous to eat in all parts. They grew wild in my Canadian yard. Blessings.


    More power to you, Lynne. I think I would have at least fussed at the goats a bit…all the while knowing that wouldn’t do any good!
    Carrying “stuff” around is not God’s way, is it?
    (Texas)


    Lynne,
    Just from reading your devotionals I feel that we think a lot alike when it comes to spiritual communication with our Lord.
    Thanks for sharing.


    Hi Lynne,
    Thank you for the reminder with a new perspective.
    These situations I experience quite frequently.
    The Lord Bless you, Keep you and Give you HIs strength in all you do.


    Hi Lynn,
    Isn’t amazing how upset we get about some things we can do little or nothing about and meanwhile we miss the important things in life until we hear the “Still small voice”.
    Blessings.


    Oh no… those naughty goats!! I can just see them standing on their hind legs to reach your beautiful baskets!! However, through it all a great message once again, thanks Lynne!
    May the Lord always help us see the bigger picture and trust in Him!
    (BC)


    What an appropriate message for me!
    I was not happy as I got off the phone and then went to read the devotion you wrote.
    Helped to put things into perspective.
    We, too, had a goat on the farm.


    Thank you for sharing your devotional thoughts. I have saved many of them over time to reread them. I thank you for your other down-to-earth writing. Today’s example of your goats eating the flowers was another great example. Here in Ontario, right in the middle of town, our flowers get eaten by deer. It’s always good to remember that God created them too. God bless you and I hope you continue writing these devotionals.


    Thank you, Lynne, for this interesting message. I could empathize with your anger with the goats. My experience has been similar only the culprits in my garden were rabbits. When gardening something is always eating something spoiling the gardener’s work! It was nice to read you have other flowers to add beauty to your home. I especially liked the way in which you were able to accept the situation.
    Blessings.


    Oh dear, Lynne. I can imagine your feelings. I have challenges here with squirrels uprooting, eating and destroying anything they can access. They even jump up into my hanging baskets. My fire inside is often raised!!!!!
    Thank goodness for the gentle whisper God sends us to calm and quiet us.
    Thank you for a chuckle, and for the confirmation of God’s presence in our lives, at all times.
    Blessings.


    Good Morning, my sister in Christ.
    We have the same problem, but the violators are white tailed deer! We tried a fence around our vegetable garden, a mature deer can easily jump a sixecially the beet fence! The deer eat everything above ground except the onions and garlic and the moles and voles eat what is below ground, especially the beets!
    Every year, the battle wages. We are lucky to harvest one quarter of what comes up. But, we are all God’s creatures.
    Blessings.


    What an excellent reminder, Lynne! We do need to remember to carefully listen for our Father’s still small voice of calm every day. One needs to be thankful for the many positives ‎in one’s life each day – the birds, clouds, sunshine, rain, wildflowers (and even animals like goats!)…all the beauty of the Earth. Each is a creation of Our Heavenly Father that He shares with us, His children.
    That’ too bad about your lovely flowers…guess they were just far too tempting for the goats to resist (like a delicacy can sometimes be to us)!‎ If you decide to replant, as you await the replacements to grow to the point of their eaten predecessors…enjoy the beauty of God’s garden. 🙂
    Do continue to write!


    My dear Lynn,
    What an amazing story, thanks for putting it into such beautiful words.
    This experience seems to be a trend this year..it is in my home, but my neighbors also, the wild life is all over the place, enjoying our beautiful flowers, what seems to us like pretty hard earned spent monies.
    They enjoy!
    But, after reading this, you have left a big smile on my face…. we are never alone.
    Thank you for sharing, as usual, your devotions are always a pleasure for me to read.
    Enjoy your what sound like an amazing property.


    Oh Lord,
    We in Dallas are waiting this morning to hear your whisper… We need to hear your whisper. How to turn this terrible violence into something glorious! How to redeem the lives of so many police officers!
    Where, oh where, are you this morning? Where, oh where, were you last night???
    We trust, but we hurt!! Please do not turn away from us! Please comfort us especially the families of the officers. Please be with the police community.
    Giving them confidence and strength to go about their responsibilities of today.
    Please be with the Police Chief, the mayor and other leaders, giving them wisdom and discernment.
    Please bring the citizens of Dallas together! Dear God, as you know,
    ALL lives matter, not just black lives!!
    Thank you Lord …we are waiting for your whisper!!!

 



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