Have you ever heard the Lord gently whisper a question into your heart with his love-infused, tender, and kind voice? Oftentimes he does this to me. Recently, he whispered this question to me, “Does your life really belong to me?” This question pierced and provoked my heart. It came to me while listening to the song “Have It All” feat. Bryce Moore. I always love when the Lord asks me heart-provoking questions. I love it because He is asking me a question so that it will lead me into an intimate dialogue with Him.
Jesus wasn’t asking me this to receive my answer, but rather it was an invitation for me to receive His answer. This was an opportunity to receive examination and revelation from God. “The crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold, but the LORD tests the heart” (Proverbs 17:3). Jesus has a holy and truly set apart way of asking questions so that they will create a hunger and longing in our hearts to desire His answer. Have you ever noticed this?
As I began to meditate on this question it led me to think of 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 which says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
When we receive revelation of the price Jesus paid for us to receive our inheritance, it empowers us to freely, willingly, and joyfully give Jesus his promised inheritance. Our whole life. The life he purchased with his own blood. When God gives us revelation of this one phrase, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price,” then we are truly able to honor God with our bodies. Apart from personal revelation given by the Spirit of God, it will remain information at best. With sincere intentions, we will try to honor God in our own way, while clinging onto our own lives. However, this is not true honor or worship.
This was one of the very things Jesus was convicting my heart of when asking me, “Does your life really belong to me? He was exposing my false worship and honor. Not to shame me but to free me so that I can truly honor and worship him in truth and bring him pleasure. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1).
I noticed that when Jesus asked me this question and then led me to meditate and commune with Him through this Scripture verse, it did several things:
1) Created hunger and desire in my heart for deeper revelation.
2) Exposed and convicted my heart of what I was withholding from Him.
3) Revealed the surpassing worth of Jesus, which empowered me to give Him freely, joyfully, and willingly the areas of my heart I was withholding from him.
4) Rekindled the flame of first love that leads to wholehearted surrender and obedience.
The words he speaks and oftentimes the questions that he asks are truly an invitation. An invitation directly from Him to receive revelation. I encourage you to be attentive and sensitive to the gentle whispers of the Spirit. There is great warfare and many different obstacles set up to prevent us from receiving revelation. Two are busyness and restlessness.
It is nearly impossible to hear his still small voice when we are constantly giving our ears and attention to other things. It is in a place of stillness where we can position our hearts to become a landing strip for the voice of God to land and abide in the deepest places of our hearts. Though his voice may be gentle, it still has the power to transform our lives. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
I invite you even now to get alone to a quiet place and position your heart to hear from the Lord. If you sense his gentle nudge and he is wooing your heart, do not harden your heart and resist him. Get away with him and be still. If this is difficult for you, ask the Helper; the Spirit is more than willing to help. Quiet your mind and heart so that you are in almost complete stillness.
Out of this stillness, Jesus can ask a question, and our hearts will be fully attentive and positioned to enter into an intimate dialogue with Him. We won’t be rushed or hurried but able to give him the attention and time he is worthy to receive. “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth”” (Psalms 46:10). May our attentiveness to the voice of God lead to his exaltation in our hearts and minds. He is worthy of all of our attention.
