Streams in the Desert - Jun 17
by L. B. E. Cowman and Jim Reimann
Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. (Ezekiel 1: 25)
What is the significance of these words: “They stood with lowered wings”? People often ask, “How can I hear the voice of the Lord?” This is the secret: these “living creatures” (v. 5) heard the voice when “they stood with lowered wings.”
We have all seen a bird flutter its wings while standing in place. But in this verse, we are told that “there came a voice . . . as they stood with lowered wings.”
Do you ever sit, or even kneel, before the Lord and yet are conscious of a fluttering in your spirit? If so, you are not exhibiting a sense of genuine stillness while in His presence.
A dear person told me of this very thing a few days ago. “I prayed about a certain thing,” she said, “but I did not wait for the answer to come.” She did not get still enough to hear God speak but instead went away and followed her own thinking in the matter. The result proved disastrous, and she was forced to retrace her steps.
Oh, how much energy we waste! How much time we lose by refusing to lower the wings of our spirit and become totally quiet before Him! Imagine the calm, the rest, and the peace that will come as we wait in His presence until we hear from Him!
Then, and only then, we too may speed “back and forth like flashes of lightning” (v. 14), going directly to “wherever the spirit would go” (v. 20).
Be still! Just now be still!
Something your soul has never heard,
Something unknown to any song of bird,
Something unknown to any wind, or wave, or star,
A message from the Father’s land afar,
That with sweet joy the homesick soul will thrill,
And comes to you only when you’re still.
Be still! Just now be still!
There comes a presence very mild and sweet;
White are the sandals of His noiseless feet.
It is the Comforter whom Jesus sent
To teach you what the words He uttered meant.
The willing, waiting spirit, He does fill.
If you would hear His message, Dear soul, be still!
Reference
Cowman, L. B. E.; Reimann, Jim (2008-09-09). Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings (p. 237). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Categories: spiritual