Psalm 34:4

"I know the Lord is speaking to me when I stop listening to sounds from the world that feed my sense of pride and ambition. Instead, I fall quiet, tune in to God's great world around me, and actively listen. Sometimes, nature speaks, telling me of God's majesty and glory. Sometimes God's Word speaks, reminding me of what God wants me to know. And sometimes the Spirit speaks, awakening my conscience, reminding me of failures, stirring my compassion and sense of justice, aligning me with God's will. I cannot control the voice of God and how it comes. I can only control my 'ears' --- my readiness to listen and quickness to respond."
---Philip Yancey (as printed in Discerning the Voice of God, Week 2: The Holy Spirit, page 31)

Yesterday, God's Word spoke to me from Psalm 34:4 (NIV) --- "I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears." It reminded me of what God wants me to know! Praise God.

You see, yesterday, I received the skin biopsy result that I have been waiting for. The results showed a benign skin condition that can be chronic, but is not harmful. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father who has graciously answered not only my prayer, but also the prayers of many others who were praying alongside me.

As you might have already guessed from the Philip Yancey quote above, I am on week 2 of my Bible study Discerning the Voice of God, and it is on the Holy Spirit. The author compares the Holy Spirit to a control tower. The control tower can see the big picture that the pilot of a plane can not. So, the pilot must fully trust the control tower for the plane to fly safely and reach its destination in one piece. Similarly, "the Holy Spirit sees the whole picture and may want to reveal something beyond what our physical senses can comprehend. As we put our attention on the Spirit, something miraculous takes place. Not only do we more clearly distinguish God's word to us, but the desires of our bodies and souls begin to fall in line with God's."

"...being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
---Philippians 1:6 NIV