More Than I Asked For

Hearing God's voice is not the destination. Knowing God is.

One of the foundations of Soul Weathered is learning to hear God's voice.

Not because hearing His voice is the goal.

It's because God is always wanting to speak into our lives.

No matter what's going on.

No matter where we are.

No matter whether we're facing a crisis or celebrating a victory.

He wants to be involved.

He wants to speak into our problems.

He wants to speak into our successes.

He wants to speak into how we raise our children.

How we earn our money.

Where we go to church.

The everyday decisions.

The big decisions.

He wants to be part of all of it.

But I've discovered something over the years that has surprised me.

When I come to God, I usually come because I need something.

I have a question.

I need direction.

I need wisdom.

I need help.

I need comfort.

I want an answer.

But God almost never stops with answering my question.

He always seems to give me more than I asked for.

And that's one of the great discoveries of my life.

As followers of Christ, we read His Word.

We pray.

We listen.

And amazingly enough, when we begin making a practice of listening—not just talking—God begins speaking.

Sometimes He speaks into the very thing we brought Him.

But many times, He goes far beyond that.

Instead of simply answering my question, He begins revealing Himself.

He shows me His character.

His nature.

His Father heart.

His kindness.

His patience.

His abundance.

His goodness.

He lets me in on who He is.

And I honestly don't think most Christians realize that's what He's doing.

I think most of us are looking for answers.

God is looking for relationship.

He's not trying to become useful to us.

He's inviting us to know Him.

That's a tremendous difference.

I've lost count of the number of times I've gone to God asking Him one thing...

...only to walk away overwhelmed by something completely different.

Not because I got the answer I wanted.

But because I saw another part of who He is.

And every time that happens, I find myself loving Him more.

Trusting Him more.

Wanting to know Him more.

Many of the devotions in Soul Weathered were born that way.

I wasn't trying to write a devotional.

I wasn't sitting down asking God to give me something to write.

I was simply living my life.

Being a father.

Being a husband.

Guiding men.

Fly fishing.

Backpacking.

Driving down the road.

Loading the dishwasher.

Playing with my grandchildren.

And right in the middle of those ordinary moments...

God would interrupt my thoughts with His.

Sometimes I wasn't even asking a question.

He simply wanted to show me something about Himself.

He wanted me to see His Father heart.

His creativity.

His joy.

His faithfulness.

His relentless love.

And that's what I hope Soul Weathered does for you.

Yes, I hope it helps you learn to listen.

Yes, I hope you begin recognizing God's voice.

But more than anything...

I hope you begin discovering who He really is.

Because I've found that the greatest gift God has ever given me wasn't an answer to my questions.

It was another glimpse of Himself.

And once you begin seeing Him...

really seeing Him...

you'll find yourself asking for more than answers.

You'll find yourself wanting more of Him.

Because that's what He's been after all along.

Not simply answering your questions...

but revealing His heart.