Dans la bonne direction

Je fais une chose : oubliant ce qui est derrière et tendant avec effort vers ce qui est devant, je cours droit au but pour le prix de l'appel céleste de Dieu dans le Christ Jésus. Philippiens 3. 14
 

Seigneur, tu diriges mes pas
Vers le ciel, ma patrie ;
Mon Dieu, tu ne me laisses pas,
Dans ta grâce infinie.

Envers moi, selon ta faveur,
Ton amour brille, ô mon Sauveur,
Mon trésor et ma vie.
Ah, sans la marche de la foi,

Ma vie est languissante ;
Mais, ô mon Sauveur, c'est en toi,
En ta vertu puissante,
Qu'est mon refuge et mon secours ;

Et tu me montres tous les jours
Ta faveur éclatante.
Jusqu'au jour où je te verrai
Dans l'éternelle gloire,

Et près de toi j'exalterai
Ta mort expiatoire,
Tu seras ma part et mon fort,
Mon gain dans la vie et la mort,
Ma joie et ma victoire.

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Escaping the Noise

After the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:12

What will help you draw close to God in silence and solitude? How can you regularly “power down” both your devices and your busy mind?

Today's Scripture & Insight : 1 Kings 19:9-13

Several years ago, the president of a college suggested that students join her in “powering down” for an evening. Although the students agreed, it was with great reluctance that they laid aside their cell phones and entered the chapel. For the next hour, they sat quietly in a service of music and prayer. Afterward, one participant described the experience as “a wonderful opportunity to calm down . . . a place to just tune out all of the extra noise.”

Sometimes, it’s difficult to escape “extra noise.” The clamor of both our external and internal worlds can be deafening. But when we’re willing to “power down,” we begin to understand the psalmist’s reminder of the necessity to be still so we can know God (Psalm 46:10). In 1 Kings 19, we discover as well that when the prophet Elijah looked for the Lord, he didn’t find Him in the pandemonium of the wind or the earthquake or the fire (vv. 9–13). Instead, Elijah heard God’s gentle whisper (v. 12).

Extra noise is practically guaranteed during celebrations. When families and friends come together, it’s likely a time of animated conversations, excess food, boisterous laughter, and sweet expressions of love. But when we quietly open our hearts, we find that time with God is even sweeter. Like Elijah, we’re more likely to encounter God in the stillness. And sometimes, if we listen, we too will hear that gentle whisper.

By Cindy Hess Kasper