Image from a photo taken by Nellie Valverde of Sarai Evangelina Cortez and her grandpa, Eradio Valverde, Jr.
God Speaks, We Listen and We Share
From Isaiah 49: 1 Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb he named me. 2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. 3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." 4 But I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God." 5 And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— 6 he says, "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." 7Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, "Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
When Nellie and I found out we were going to be parents, we were nervous but excited. We had miscarried our first, and now we believed God was blessing us with a child. As the baby grew, so did our excitement and she and I spoke to the child while she was still in the womb. On the day she made her appearance, which is coming up soon (again!) on February 1st, it was after 22 hours of labor and a C-Section. Dads were not allowed in the surgery suite and I paced the floor for only about 15 minutes before I heard the wail of a newborn and an elevator door opened and our pediatrician and our baby came out. She was not too happy and was crying very healthily. She was in a portable incubator and the doctor open the lid and said, "Here she is, Dad!" I spoke to our baby and she immediately stopped crying and started looking around for my voice. It was a moment that I will never forget and one repeated three more times with our other daughters and again with our grandchildren. You talk about connecting, that moment was special. Soon Nellie came down and she was groggy from the procedure and she asked if I had seen the baby, "Yes, she's pink, she's beautiful and she looks like me!" (Thank God she's a beautiful woman - she outgrew that phase!).
Isaiah heard the voice of God while he was still in his mother's womb and he heard God naming him. He realized that this listening to God formed him for his life's work. And Isaiah realized that this formation that took place was not just about him but the entire nation of Israel, the people of God. Formed and shaped to be God's voice in a godless world. God spoke to Isaiah and spoke a word of challenge and invitation to those who had wandered away thinking that God did not care for them. God said, speak to all, no matter the station or place in life, and those who hear will be blessed because of you.
You and I have been chosen as well to listen to God. We can hear God in a variety of ways and not all of them have to be verbal. We pray and as we pray we should listen. We pray before we read the Bible and while we read we should listen. We sing and as we sing we are praying and listening and we should listen. We hear God's pastors and preachers preach and as they preach, we pray and we should listen. No one, who comes into worship with a right and ready heart. should ever leave with claims of not having been fed. If you're praying and listening you leave not only fed, but full. And you should be ready to share with others about what God shared with you during worship or during your devotional time or scripture reading time. You will be surprised at how many have not listened nor heard from God in a long time. Yours may be the voice that will bless many.
Are you listening?
PRAYER: Loving God for the wonderful messages You constantly share with us, thank You. Forgive us when we hear and feel blessed but do nothing about it. Especially forgive us for not saying or sharing with those who are dying without You. Grant to us a new opportunity to once again speak to You during this prayer and the rest of today's prayers that I will lift up, and especially help me listen. This I pray in Christ Jesus, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
PS I ask your prayers for the family of Elida Gonzales, the woman from Mission who battled the swine flu. Yesterday morning she was called home after a lengthy battle with the flu and the effects it had on her other medical concerns. Thank you for your prayers for her during this time.
I also ask prayers for my Dad. His doctor seems to believe he is progressing rapidly into dementia and so pray for him. I was able to spend part of the day with him yesterday in Houston and I ask you pray for him and us.
The picture above is one of my favorites, taken by Nellie, of our oldest grandchild, Saraí Evangelina Cortez (I named her!) and it's so precious when they get to the age they can share things and have wonderful conversations with us.
