Listening or Sometimes Not

This week, the kids and I have been reading through the book of Daniel. Already in chapters 1 through 5, we have seen him respectfully stand up to authority to eat a healthy diet, his friends stand firm in their faith and risk death, explain and interpret a dream with no prior knowledge, interpret a different dream explained to him, and translate a miraculous message from writing on the wall. Reading through this book of the Bible has brought up so many good conversations. 

We talked about how Nebuchadnezzar overtook their homes and way of life. They had to learn a new language, and became slaves to a king who didn't believe the same as them. This further led to a lot of discussions around respecting authority that you don't necessarily agree with, and how to do that in a safe way. 

We talked about the ability to interpret dreams.

We talked about the risk of following Jesus in the face of radical opposition. 

We talked about how it was the intimacy that Daniel and his friends had with God that allowed them to stand firm in their faith. 

Yesterday morning, we practiced being still and quiet to listen for God's voice. When our two songs were done playing, I asked the kids if they wanted to share anything they heard or felt during our time. My oldest shared that she remembered 3 kids giving their lives to Jesus at camp. My middle girl shared that she just thanked God for helping her stomach not hurt anymore. My youngest giggled and said "I just thought about the movie we watched last night". 

At that admission, all four of us laughed a little. That's just how it goes sometimes. Sometimes you get distracted. Sometimes you have a great revelation of the Creator of the universe's love for you. Sometimes you're thankful for things he's done in your life. Sometimes you don't hear anything at all. Sometimes you just sit in silence and listen to yourself breathe in and out, and that's ok. 

Receiving is not the point, abiding is.