Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1.

The Sovereign Lord comes with power, and His arm rules for Him. See, His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. Isaiah 40:10.

Indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to Him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Romans 9:20 NKJV.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5.

I loved this from You Are The Beloved by Henri Nouwen: “The Spirit of God Prays In us…Silence means rest, rest of body and mind in which we become available for Him whose heart is greater than ours. That is very threatening; it is like giving up control over our actions and thoughts, allowing something creative to happen not by us but to us. Is it so amazing that we are so often tired and exhausted, trying to be masters of ourselves, wanting to grasp the ultimate meaning of our existence, struggling with our identity? Silence is that moment in which we not only stop the discussion with others but also the inner discussions with ourselves, in which we can breathe in freely and accept our identity as a gift. “Not I live, but He lives in me.” It is in this silence that the Spirit of God can pray in us and continue His creative work in us…Without silence the Spirit will die in us and the creative energy of our life will float away and leave us alone, cold, and tired. Without silence we will lose our center and become the victim of the many who constantly demand our attention.”

As so often happens when we seek Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, the above resonated with our talk earlier on our Friday Zoom Retreat. We shared where we are and what we are coming to understand in our walk with God. For many of us, it’s being okay with waiting because we are understanding that God IS…and He is Sovereign and His Will is for our good, good we can’t see until we look back. We’re learning to see God’s burning bushes when we open our hearts to Him. And our chapter, Amos 8, shows us the burning bush of God’s heart for what is good. This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. “What do you see, Amos?” He asked. “A basket of ripe fruit,” I answered. Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for My people Israel; I will spare them no longer. In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies – flung everywhere! Silence!” Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, “When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath ended that we may market wheat?” – skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat. The Lord has sworn by Himself, the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget anything they have done. Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn? The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt. In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight…The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” v. 1-9, 11-12. All of that happened, even the famine of hearing the words of the Lord spoken by His prophets for several hundred years until John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Son, Jesus. And what did Jesus tell us is most needed? As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42.

Are we too busy following the world to do the one needed thing? Creator God spoke to Amos about what was important to Him for the people of ancient Israel that the people were totally unaware of, so busy were they in their daily pursuits. He spoke to Martha, so busy in her distracting worries. We can sit at the feet of the Sovereign Lord and indeed, He is willing. He is willing to walk beside us, before us, behind us – and dwell within us through the Holy Spirit given to us for our good. Can we desire to be still and be with Him and have our focus changed to what is most needed after all? Will we see the burning bushes that are all around us? With His help, yes! Has there been a famine of knowing God’s love for you in your life? Be still…give Him the most important thing you can give…your attention. Pray. Tell Him everything in your heart. Listen. As you do, feel the warmth of His love and know the peace only He can bring to your heart and spirit. Few things are needed – indeed only one…and it will not be taken away from us…choose what is better…