“Ye shall have a song, as in the night … and gladness of heart…
and the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard…
Isaiah 30:29-30

How is it possible to encounter the will of God?  We so often pray…”Thy will be done.”  Yet, the words have little depth for us.  We repeat them mechanically and thoughtlessly, without any real consideration for their meaning.

Do we really allow God’s will to prevail in our lives?  More important, do we really want to know His will for us?

God speaks.

He tells us the path we are to take.  In order to hear Him, we must understand how He speaks and understand the Heavenly language that He uses.  We must know how to listen and what to listen for.  God speaks in the language of the Spirit. And, when we listen, we hear in our spirits.

One night, I was perplexed about what direction my work should take.  In the middle of that dark night, I fell to my knees, earnestly seeking God’s face. When I got back into bed, I fell asleep instantly; but, suddenly, as if someone had snapped their fingers, I was wide awake. I heard the audible voice of the Lord. It was articulate, rich, all-knowing; it was God. His voice was not outwardly perceptible within the room, but I heard Him in my spirit.  The communion was one of openness of spirit, Spirit to spirit.  I had found the door through which God enters our presence, communes with our thoughts, and personally speaks to us.  God comes and speaks at those moments when we are urgently pleading for an answer, when we are completely willing to hear.

I was not alone in the room that night when God spoke. My husband lay sleeping right beside me. Yet, I am the only one who heard that Voice.  It was almost like the Apostle Paul’s experience on the Damascus Road when he alone heard the Lord’s voice.  The reason is that the Voice addressed Paul’s spirit, and he heard God within.  So did I; He came for my specific situation.

What God said is this:  “Of all those born on the earth, you are the only one chosen to do this work. If you do not do it, it will not be done.”

In God’s eyes, we are each one-of-a-kind.  We each have only one life, only one opportunity to live in service to God and the people we are destined to help on this earth.  There is no one who can do exactly what you can do.

God never explained to me specifically what He wanted me to do, but whatever this special thing is—I am the one to do it.  And it is work.  This is not a gift He was giving me, but something I am giving to Him.

The startling thing about the Lord’s words to each of us is the uniqueness of who you are!  He chooses you for His work; He gives you the skills you need and expects you to bring all of your passion to the table.  Then, He reminds you that He has no one else in mind to do it. If you and I come up short, many people will miss something very special.

For every Christian, our work is to build up God’s Kingdom, to spread the good news of His love.  It is, expressly, to do God’s work in the universe.  To be God’s heart, hands, feet and voice.  Every day that we seek Him, we are asking Him to show us what that work is.

It is the Lord’s song in the night that empowers us for the task of tomorrow. May we never call it a night until our work is done.