It does talk to you!
Well-meaning friends and family warned me of the pain and difficulties that follow a total knee replacement, and I took them to heart. Desiring to regain a functional knee, I committed to doing the physical therapy, to keep ahead of the pain with drugs, and to not push too much. Two hours after surgery, they had me strolling to the bathroom with a walker for support and balance. I would continue to rely on that walker. Until I didn’t. Just four to five days after my April 1 surgery, I pushed the walker ahead of me from my living room recliner to the kitchen sink, grabbed a travel cup to get water to hydrate, then moved to the spigot at the refrigerator.
Then, to my total and unplanned surprise, I noticed my walker remained at the sink. I walked with no aid to the reefer door with the travel cup. No staggering, no fall, no pain. No decision, my body just decided it was ready and did it. That got repeated several times in the recovery process—my body just acted without asking my permission. And every time, it made the right decision.
Sometimes our bodies know our capabilities better than we. Almost like they have a mind of their own. Yes, we can push too much which sets us back, or we can be over cautious and not progress. But maybe we need to listen to them more carefully, both when they whisper and when they shout.
More significantly, I’ve found that principle also applies to listening to our spirit. This ability neither comes naturally nor does it abound in me. But the Holy Spirit lives in us and communicates directly to our spirit that God breathed into us, and he will often give us gentle nudges. Just like my physical body did. I appreciate this passage, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). Some translations tell to walk with the Spirit, to follow the leading, but this image of walking step by step with the Spirit intrigues me.
Like with our bodies, we can see our brand of toothpaste as spiritual guidance from God, or we can not truly try to hear what he says. Now, a couple of cautions.
First, rely on a biblically informed spirit to talk to you. The Spirit wrote the Bible and won’t contradict himself. So when we face a decision, let’s check out how he’s already addressed this.
Second, I’ve found he whispers more than he shouts, and my carnal desires can easily overshadow his nudges. Of late, when I come to a decision, I listen for the whisper. I’m discovering he does that much more often than I used to pick up. I’m kind of liking this instant feedback my spirit gives, when I slow down enough to look for it.
Kick Starting the Application
How sensitive are you to the whispers of your spirit? Why? How can you increase your ability to listen?