The Cracked Pot…

When I was a child my siblings and I often made those can “phones”. For those of you under the age of 50 let me explain….we would take two empty cans mom had discarded. After we cleaned the cans well, we would use a nail and hammer to create a hole in the bottom of the can and make sure the top was removed completely and had no jagged edges. Then we would find a long piece of string (any string would do). We would then run the string between the two cans and push the string through the hole in the bottom and tie it off inside the can. And just like that, we had “phones”.  We could use these “phones” to hear each other from around corners, or sometimes from inside the barn to the outside. While someone was speaking into their can the other person held their can to their ear to hear. We would entertain ourselves for hours doing this. Oh the good old days!
The only problem with our amazing invention was, we didn’t always hear clearly, or we heard only partially the things being said to us. Sometimes we got confused by who should be talking and who should be listening. We often spoke over each other. We spent more time saying, “Can you hear me?” or “Huh? Can you repeat that?” As a child this complication made for great fun and lots of giggles.
However, the Lord revealed to me during my quiet time with Him, that often, we use this technique to hear Him. Let me explain. We often use different avenues to hear God. We often rely on other people, or, we read the Bible and think that’s the only way God speaks to us. We read articles of what other people received from our Lord. Now, none of these are bad, however, if these are the only ways we hear God we’ll miss out of the direct voice of God. As much as I enjoyed hearing my sister talk through our home-made phones it could not compare with the time we spent face to face. Often talking for hours. During those times our communication was clear. It was personal and sweet.
This is how it should be with God. Enjoying what others are saying and sharing, but never replacing the personal time alone with God. For in those intimate, quiet times, God reveals Himself to me in deeper ways. My understanding of Him, and my worship of Him increases. I allow Him to speak into my life and I adjust my life according to what He is saying! It’s a beautiful thing!
So, whatever is hindering you from spending time alone with our Lord, I encourage you to begin to set yourself apart just to hear His voice, just to sit directly in His presence. You will be blessed beyond what you can imagine!
And, you won’t need to scrounge in the garbage for cans! It’s a win-win.
Be blessed!