photo by Ben Vaughn on Unsplash

Sometimes it can be easy to get stuck inside our own heads. For some of us, fears, doubts, insecurities, and bitterness can continually spiral and fold in on themselves, leading us further into negativity and fruitless patterns. 

For others it’s constant internal evaluation, thinking over and over-thinking, judging, categorizing, and strategizing to fit our world into nice boxes and plot the best course ahead for ourselves.

Or maybe you’re that type to carry-on imagined conversations with your partner, friends, or co-workers- working out what you would say and guessing how they might react (whether such a conversation is ever intended to come to fruition or not).

Fortunately, the God of the universe has so much more to communicate to us than what we can come up with in our own heads. He knows all the ins and outs, the hidden details, and hearts of those around us. He has promised to guide us in His infinite wisdom:

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” (Isaiah 30:21, NIV). 

Yes, God is always listening and always speaking to us. The Carmelite monk, Brother Lawrence, famously led his simple life endeavoring to include God in every moment, even those as mundane as sweeping the floors and washing dishes. Since God continually speaks, we must endeavor to be continually listening for His voice.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” - John 10:27

Just ahead of this verse Jesus chastises the Jews who were questioning Him as the messiah. He told them by way of scriptures they would recognize and showed them by way of miracles and wonders, but they did not listen and they did not believe. These, Jesus notes, are indicators that they are not His sheep:

“Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep.” - John 10:25-26

We must make sure we are behaving like Jesus’ sheep. Make sure we’re listening and acting as though we believe we’re invited into the heavenly conversation. Take some time today to intentionally listen, and invite God into your inner thought-life. Strive to be in a constant, vibrant conversation with the living God (instead of merely talking to yourself). 

*For more devotional content, highlights from our articles, and invitations to our workshops, please join us on social media (Facebook / Instagram) , or sign-up for the Project Arctos email list.

**For more on Brother Lawrence, see the book, Practicing His Presence, which is online free.

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Enjoy more devotions from Project Arctos contributors:

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It can be hard to fathom having someone who forever and unfailingly has your best interests in view.

Hopefully you have a partner, family, or friends who at least give you a healthy taste of how this feels, but ultimately many of us still operate in this life as though we've always got to be the captains of our own destiny. As such, it can be hard to trust even God in a holistic sense.

If you're like me, you'll occasionally argue your perspective or bargain with God on some aspect of your life or another. But we have to remember that His ways are so far advanced above our ways.

While any conversation with God is good, instead of our short-sighted bargaining, it may be much better to get to a place of abidance and agreement with what God is doing and how He is leading in your life (as opposed to persistently arguing your limited perspective).

God knows you best, He knows the universe around you best, and He is always and unfailingly going to act in your best interest.

So next time you find yourself bargaining, stop for a moment and do some more listening. He's trying to bless you, grow you, and perfectly love you.

May your week be filled with divine conversation marked with an abiding posture from which you may receive blessings well beyond what you could ever have bargained for.

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This is probably the most defining verse of my life. I think we all have particular verses that resonate profoundly at certain periods, but this one has really stuck with me throughout the years. It is one of the harder hitting of Jesus’ signature contrarian teachings, where He states ‘you have believed it that way, but I’m telling you now it is actually this way.’ It comes in the middle of a passage that kind of marks the beginning of the end of the ministry they all thought they were in, one where Jesus has a long life, undermines or overthrows the oppressive Roman rule over Israel, and ushers in a new kingdom era. Within this context it brings a foreboding foreshadowing of the trials Jesus’ followers would soon face. Would they run and hide for their lives after his arrest, or risk all for the sake of the Kingdom. Would they risk their lives that we, thousands of years later, might ‘find it’ also?

For me, this verse has been less foreboding and more of a guiding principle to keep coming back to. It is easy to get caught up in ‘doing’ life or pursuing various life expectations and goals. If we’re honest, we spend much of our thought-life preserving or saving the life we think we ought to have. It is a big part of the reason we get up and go to work, stay up late studying for our education, or champion any number of causes that we find important. It isn’t wrong to do-so, but it can become something of a trap.

Earlier in the passage, after Jesus foretells of his death, Peter is strongly rebuked for fighting to preserve his expectations of Jesus and their ministry:

Peter fell into the trap of trying to save the life he thought he was living for, and in doing so was losing both it and risking his place in the greater role God was calling him to, a life where his work and sacrifice would be at the forefront of ushering in a Kingdom beyond his wildest imagination, one that would extend far beyond Jerusalem, far beyond the farthest reaches of Rome, and into yours and my very lives all these years later.

So, are you spending your days seeking to preserve your own ideal of life? How much of your time is preoccupied with work, and bank accounts, and purchasing the next thing, and reaching the next milestone? Are you spending enough time listening and seeking daily direction from the Lord? Is your day today seated in the furthering of God’s Kingdom, or yours?

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“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

- Matthew 16:25

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We invite you to share your own experiences below for the edification of all:

“If we are to believe Jesus, nothing is more dangerous than people who presume they already see [and have Christian life all figured out]. God can most easily be lost by being thought to be [already fully attained].”

- Brother Richard Rohr, from his book ‘Everything Belongs’ (with our emphasis added)

The ideal of having a very certain and secure faith-system has perhaps become less and less useful in our postmodern age. The younger generations of Christians long to go beyond quick, simple, and pat answers to engage the messy questions of faith and life, and I think we need to endeavor to meet them there.

Whether young or old in the faith, it can be all too easy to fall into some unhealthy certitudes (some perhaps as damaging as the zeal of the Pharisees and Saul of Tarsus before his conversion). For some it’s a particular way of doing church, for others it’s too strong a conviction on a non-essential piece of theology, and others might be wrapped in an ‘I’m Saved’ shield that keeps them from letting their faith penetrate the deeper areas of their lives. Such overly-strong certitudes become especially prevalent when it comes to engaging others in fruitful dialogue between faiths, denominations, or generations. 

To reinforce our particular certitudes we tend to cling to ‘stand firm’ verses like this one in Philippians when we strongly defend or dig our heels in on a particular issue or interpretation: 

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!” - Philippians 4:1, NIV

But Paul greatly qualifies this ideal with the reality that none of us, himself included, have fully arrived yet:

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:12-14, NIV

Yes, we’ve come to know so much deep truth in our relationships with God and our studies of Scripture (and should give great thanks for it), yet we cannot presume to know it all. We need to remember, the God of the Bible is to be continually sought after and continually known. 

If our default posture is ‘I’m a Christian. I know the Truth. I have everything I need in my faith and in Scripture,’ then we’re not residing in the daily reliance and relationship with God for which we’ve always been intended. Instead we can fall into an awkward self-reliant kind of Christianity that saps our growth and vibrant service as Kingdom citizens.

We have to remember, it is daily connection and partnership with the Divine that is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Today, take some time in reflection and prayer to recommit yourself to the mystery of our ever-knowable God. 

(If you have extra time, re-read Philippians 3 & 4, and ask God to draw your posture and life-focus heavenward.)

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