chasing a whisper…

i sat in the chiang mai night bazaar the other night, eating a $1.50 large pizza with Chris Scott. he made an off the cuff comment, one that stuck with me. he said, “in america, we hear whispers of what God’s doing, but we don’t stop to listen to what’s being said.”

 

whispers are funny things. i sat in a hospital visiting a teammate today, and the others in the room carried out a conversation in a soft whisper. without looking at the person, i couldn’t hear what was being said. i had to focus in on them, and listen carefully, and then the words became clear.

 

my next blog will be on what it means to be a man. this month allowed the men of our squad to do ministry together, without girls, and i think God was teaching most of us what it meant to be men. we’re men of God. princes. warriors. sons and heirs. but one of those things that it takes to be a man, i’m learning, is a constant focus on the person of God. focusing in on him, and trying to make sense of the words he’s speaking.  being a man means listening carefully and then acting in obedience to that truth. 

 

whisper number one: God’s given me some clear words this year about what comes after the race. i know i’m called to pastor. i know that the pastoring i do will focus deeply on discipleship of college aged men. i also believe God gave me a city in which to plant a church and transform the landscape of through this body of believers.

 

and i wondered if God really does speak that way, and then we met “V” this month. we lived in V’s house for about five days this month, and traveled all over with him. he received a word from the Lord several years ago to make himself known through sports ministry. God has allowed him to teach in all the local high schools, coach traveling soccer teams, and he is known virtually in every village throughout northern thailand. but now that he has made himself known and shared the gospel with countless numbers, the Lord gave him a new word, to start a home for the youth of thailand to come to him, instead of him seeking them out. but he has one obstacle in the way, he doesnt know how to pay for the property that God has led him to. it’s a huge property that could easily house 30 to 40 people, but he can’t afford the $90US to pay the monthly rent on the house.

 

i hurt to hear that. another whisper people in the states hear – they know they can help, but how? but V wasn’t worried. he goes to that house often to pray over it, and God spoke truth to him that the money would come because he was being obedient to the whisper God spoke to him. Obedience…obedience to the soft whisper that could easily be ignored.  

 

whisper number two: the week after easter, we held a church service in a hilltop village in northern thailand. our contact warned us going in that the day would probably be a little bizarre. we’ve seen bizarre, but this church was filled with the Holy Spirit, and bizarre is a very fair word for the day. but the thing that stuck out to me the most was that a woman prayed over a missionary who was with us. but she didn’t just pray, she prayed in tongues. and her tongues turned into english in a man’s voice. the voice began to talk about the ways this man would bless the village we were worshiping at, and then continued to prophecy about his ministry back in texas…she doesn’t speak english…but God doesn’t need much more than a person willing to be obedient and to let Him work through them. 

 

 

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i guess more whispers will be added, but as a man of God, i’m going to start listening to the whispers. what is God calling me to be involved in? what do i need to obey? where do i need to go? how should i use my money? God’s whispering, am i listening carefully.

 

 

-my dad.