Whispers And Wildflowers By Sarah Beth MarrSample

Day Three: Retreat and Hear His Whisper

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30, I King 19:11-12

Today’s verse in Matthew is familiar to most of us. It’s the go-to verse when we’re weary. It’s the calming verse when we need rest. They are words that silence us so we can hear His whispers and focus on the theme of retreating with Jesus. When we are quiet and alone with God, we can hear him speak. He modeled a pattern of retreating when He dedicated moments away from His busy life to spend time alone with the Father. 

Jesus had a mission to save people. The common thread laced throughout His ministry was that He retreated from the activity and the doing to pray and be alone with God. I love this moment in Mark, when Jesus recognizes His disciples’ busyness and weariness and invites them to pull over and simply be with Him and rest: “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest’” (Mark 6:31).

Jesus is asking us to simply come to Him. He knows the best refreshment for our weary souls is Himself. His pattern of living was to retreat and pray. Think of all Jesus gained during those sacred, quiet moments with His Father: God strengthened Him for His mission, gave Him instructions and guidance, and comforted and encouraged Him in His struggles. 

In today’s reading of I Kings, Scripture echoes that God doesn’t necessarily speak loudly. In order that we may hear Him, He invites us to listen intently. That requires quietness and solitude. We gain so much when we slow our pace to spend time with the One who created us. It will become a beautiful gift to your life as you grow in your understanding of what it is to hear His whisper. 

I’m not talking about an audible voice. I know most of us would like to better understand how we hear God, but this illustration may help. Think of a dancer. Because the notes are so soft and subtle, rather than hearing the music, in a way the dancer feels the music. The music takes over her soul and she can anticipate it even before she hears it because she’s so familiar with it. As we grow more and more familiar with God, we begin to understand when we indeed hear Him whisper. 

What is entangling your heart today, keeping you from hearing God’s gentle whisper?