Speaking in the Silence by Akpene Torku - VBS Day 1

This week is VBS. I try every day of VBS to offer a little devotional for those serving that's in alignment with what we are sharing with the kids. I couldn't put it better than my friend Akpene who happened to just post this on her notes. Thank you Akpene for sharing your heart with us.
Ellen - Share your passion to fulfill the mission.

I’ve been sitting underneath the teaching for the last couple of weeks specifically about the voice of God and His will and what not. I began to think about a lot of things. As I was making sense of it all, one thing came to the forefront: When God speaks with silence, and two examples immediately came to mind. Some friends of mine moved to Austin because they felt God was leading them here. After some time, the husband couldn't find any work, and they didn’t know where to go. They decided to move back to where they were before, notified their landlord, canceled trash pick up and everything. Just before moving, they met with their pastor and explained everything that was going on. The pastor didn’t give them advice, but asked them this: What was the last thing God spoke to them about moving to Austin? They realized that even though the situation changed, God’s plan didn’t. And so they stayed. Twenty-odd years later, they are still here and extremely blessed.

I know we get frustrated with not being able to hear and discern God’s voice, but I realize that sometimes we’re asking Him questions He’s already answered and that we’ve forgotten or, even better, that we didn’t like the answer to. My brother and sister-in-law are a young married couple, still trying to build a stable base. After having one kid while still in college, they prayed about using birth control. They were on the way out the door to the doctor's office when they sat down, prayed and opened the bible. They opened right up to Isaiah 7, and verse 7 jumped out at them: "And the Lord God said, 'It shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass.'" Needless to say, they didn't go. Immediately, they had another child. Soon after that, she became pregnant with the third. Seeking God during this time, they were thinking, young married, three kids, one income, etc., it’s time to slow down a bit. They weren’t getting a clear answer, so out of logic, they began birth control. That apparently makes no difference in the plans of God, because they became pregnant again, and yes, with twins. My brother and sister-in-law lovingly refer to them as their double whammies. Some people may be reassured that no matter what, we can’t stand in the way of His purposes. Talk to my sister-in-law, I’m sure she can let you know if she was reassured in the moment of discovery or not…

Someone told me of something called the ax head principle. I can’t honestly tell you the entire teaching, but it comes from II Kings 6:1-7, where the sons of the prophets were building a house, and one of them lost the iron ax head in the river. They were distraught, and appealed to Elisha, who the asked, “Where did it fall?” When they showed him, he threw a stick in the water and made the iron ax head float. So the principle is this in a nutshell: if you don’t know what direction to go, go back to the last thing God spoke to you and move from that point. I quote several ministers I’ve heard lately, “God is always speaking.” We just may not realize it because He may be saying the same thing He’s said before, and we maybe expecting a different word. Maybe we just need to listen to the silence and hear what He says.