Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: WHISPER (12/08/22)
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TITLE: Parson Booker - How He Speaks | Previous Challenge Entry
By James Graham
12/11/22 -
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I smiled when I heard Him whisper. It was something that I had learned to depend on and trust and tonight was no exception. He knew the situation I was in and had responded. All I ever had to do was say, “Father” and He would always answer.
This was the first meeting at Lute Hinderman’s cabin. Word had got to me that he wanted me to come. He lived on the outer edge of my circuit and I sent word that I would.
Now I am standing in front of the fireplace, my Bible in my hand, and the stares I am receiving are downright hostile. I was beginning to wonder if I had made a mistake in answering his request. That is when the whispers began. I knew it was Him. He told me to read from the nineteenth chapter of 1st Kings.
“I am going to read the Holy Scriptures. The Lord has told me to read from the Old Testament. I am going to read from the nineteenth Chapter of 1st Kings.”
Clearing my throat, I began, “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountain apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the wind came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”
A whisper told me to close my Bible and wait.
Lute broke the silence, “Are you done?”
I answered, “Yes.”
“What does it mean?”
I was prepared for it and answered, “How many of you have been in a ruckus before?”
A couple of hands slowly rose into the air, and one of them was Lutes.
“What happened during the ruckus? Was there shouting, cursing, and getting in each other’s face?”
“Well, Parson, I reckon so,” he answered.
“Did it accomplish anything?” I asked.
“I busted his nose?”
“Did it make you happy? Did it satisfy you? Tell me, how did it make you feel?”
“I was proud of myself. I won the ruckus.”
“What started it?” I asked.
“Old man Sweeney owed me money. I was going to get it Hell or high water,” he answered.
“Did the thought pop into your head?” I asked.
“Well, now that you mention it, yes, it did.”
“Lute, where did that thought come from? I’m sure it didn’t come from the Lord,” I asked.
“Are you telling me it came from Beelzebub?”
“Lute, he whispered in your ear and told you what to do.”
“Parson, I never thought of that before,” he said with tears in his eyes, “I’m rightly ashamed.”
“Lute, you have to learn how to hear whispers. Anything rambunctious doesn’t come from the Lord. Like the scriptures I read, the Lord speaks with a still, small voice. He speaks best with a whisper.”
“Do you hear these whispers?”
“I hear them every day and depend on them. The Lord leads me with His whispers,” I answered.
“Do you reckon I could hear them like you?” he asked.
“Yes, He is there for anyone who will listen.”
“Will you show me how to do it?”
“Yes,” I answered, “I want you to close your eyes and clear your mind. Then you wait. He will know when you are ready.”
Lure got down on his knees and did as he was told. The cabin was so silent you could hear a mouse scamper across the fireplace. I watched as Lute got an amazing look on his face, and then he smiled.
“I heard Him whisper,” he smiled, “I really did.”
“What did He say?” I asked.
He said, “I am here and I will guide you. Trust me.”
“Lute,” I said. This is the first step. The more you seek Him, the more He will whisper.”
He was crying when I took him into my arms.
“I learned to hear His whispers when I was young. He has never failed me and He will never fail you,” I whispered in his ear.
“I know that now. I will wait for His whispers. Will you come back?”
“The Lord directs my path. It is in His hands,” I replied.
The next morning, on the trail, the Lord whispered in my ear, “Well done, Caleb, well done. You are to stop there on your rounds. Lute has a lot to learn.”
“Yes, Lord, I will.”
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I warmed to the sweetness of the personal relationship the Lord establishes with us.
I felt a shade untethered until in your story the Lord whispered to Caleb “he has much to learn”.
I've learned the Word is the sweetest whisper and it is the two- edged sword between my spirit and my soul.
Great story.