Listen! My beloved! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills. (Song 2:8)
The beaches where I live can get crowded in the summertime, and this summer was no exception. Not long ago, we made plans to go to the beach with some friends on a Sunday afternoon. Our friends arrived before us, and cell service on the beach is nearly nonexistent, so I was worried we would not be able to find them. After scanning the crowd for a minute, I changed my approach.
Sure enough, soon after that we were able to locate our friends. When we walked up, one friend in particular was surprised. “How did you see us among all these people?” she asked. I smiled. “I didn’t look for you, I listened for you. I could hear your laugh from a mile away.”
The closer we grow to someone, the more we learn his or her voice. The maiden described the moment in which she knew her beloved was coming—not because she saw him, but she heard him. Her excitement was spurred long before he was in her sight because she recognized he was there. The closer we grow to God, the more we learn to recognize his voice. In the overwhelming, loud moments, we can learn to recognize his quiet, loving voice, that reminds us of his faithfulness long before we can see it.
Cultivate a growing relationship with God and an awareness of his voice.
Lindsey Gorveatte is an ordained Wesleyan pastor who currently serves with her husband at The Center Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
© 2021 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
