In times of trouble no greater comfort is ever provided than what God’s word gives us. The Holy Spirit is even called our helper, comforter, counselor, or advocate (John 14:16). God is not against us – He is for us. God takes no delight when we hurt; rather, He hurts with us (John 11:35). Therefore, we love to hear His voice. We love to read His word and know that the Lord is with us every step of the way. David writes, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).
But there is another time when we treasure and greatly appreciate the sound of God’s voice, and that is when we have done some drifting in our faith and we come back home to our heavenly Father. Wouldn’t it be great if we hit a home run in our spiritual life every single day – or every single season of life?! Reality says something different. Reality says we all go through peaks and valleys. We all have ups and downs, including flat spots in our faith when we just aren’t living the way we know we should live for Jesus as Savior and Lord. We need to know that when we get back on track God accepts us back, forgives us, and even helps us mature through the downtime. When we hear God’s voice through His word and our prayers with Him we are sooooo relieved and grateful that God is still speaking to us. It’s better to never go flat during our spiritual journey through life, but boy, it sure is a blessing that we can open God’s word, read some passages that speak of His mercy and grace, repent, and get back on track with a vivacious vengeance against spiritual “lukewarmness”.
Read Luke 15:1-24 and then listen to Sound of Your Voice by Third Day.
Luke 15:1-24
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.