…My immediate response was not to consult any human being.
Galatians 1:16
Some decisions don’t require consolations…
Here’s something about the Holy Spirit: He often sounds way better in my head.
Have you ever tried to put into words a great revelation the Lord’s been teaching you? Have you ever watched those words leave your mouth, come to a screeching halt right in front of a person’s face and, before they have a chance to connect, fall fast and furiously to the ground in front of them?
They don’t get it. They don’t see it. And now you’re thinking you never got it and you can’t find your way back to see it either.
We place a lot of emphasis on using our words. During my time overseas I was so regularly around languages other than my own, I became very good at tuning people out. Now that I’m living in an English speaking country again, I realize just how much people like to talk (loudly) and how careless we’ve become in doing it.
And more and more I’m learning that there are times we need to, in our quiet, protect what’s happening in our heart. Because our relationship with God is highly personal. It’s customized to fit each of us perfectly – not your best friend. This doesn’t mean we should take Christ’s light in us and hide it under that bushel in Matthew 5:15. But there is value in keeping some flames under protection until we’re certain the fire can withstand the wind.
When Saul was first called out of a life where persecuting the Jews for their faith was his favorite past time, he did something I hadn’t realized until recently:
In his own words – “But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. Galatians 1:15-16
Instead of shouting his conversion from the roof tops, he went into the dessert – For THREE years. And when God finally released him into ministry, Saul became Paul, sharing the gospel with the entire first century world and writing 14 of our New Testament books. Transparent? I can’t think of anyone who did it better than Paul, but his instinct was not to consult any human being on how crazy it would be to try and recover from the life he’d been leading.
Being bold and courageous for the gospel often starts with a secret the Father shares, firstly, with just you. Like when the son of man was born to a frightened virgin girl who had Kings visiting her baby in a sketchy barn. Mary took those moments, and “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”. Luke 2:19
If the Father is teaching you something or asking you to do something, you don’t necessarily need to consult with everyone who will stand still long enough to listen, before you find the courage to do it.
To be sure, this is not about hiding your faith. Not even close. It’s about basking in the privacy of knowing the GOD of the universe personally. He is YOUR friend, defender, comforter and healer. He will make you bold. He will give you strength. He will inspire you. He will order your steps. And He will enable you to share His great grace as a byproduct of your faithful obedience…. the kind that doesn’t require a group vote.
