Give Me a Revelation

I have a lot of people who care about me. And it’s great. The only catch is that when a lot of different people care about you, you start to get conflicting advice. Naturally, not every person in the world is on the same page. So when you talk to them, you hear what they have to say based on their personal life experiences and point of view. And when you’re trying so desperately to hear the voice of God, this can be a problem.

When I first moved back to Virginia, I met with my priest about a particular issue I’ve been dealing with and he said something that I didn’t really understand at the time. He said, “Be careful of how many people you talk to about this issue. And no matter what they say, pray that God gives you the wisdom to pick out the helpful pieces. Take everything else with a grain of salt.” Ok, maybe not verbatim, but you get the idea. Basically, what my priest was trying to tell me is that everyone wants to offer a solution to your problems. But the only one who can actually solve them is God.

My church has particular readings that are associated with each day of the year; and the Gospel reading for December 15th was from John 10:1-16. And it drove home the concept about this whole idea of listening for the voice that matters. In particular, these verses stood out to me:

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

Then today, I heard a song by Third Day, and it was as if they were speaking for me:

Give me a revelation

Show me what to do

‘Cause I’ve been trying to find my way

I haven’t got a clue

Tell me should I stay here

Or do I need to move

Give me a revelation

I’ve got nothing without You

I pray that God would speak to me; I pray that He would tell me what He wants. And I pray that I would recognize His voice when He does.