Longing for His voice to break through the chatter in my mind; I seek it out and investigate what He may be saying. I look at the Bible and dissect each word, verse, phrase, and chapter. Awakened in the night by a pain in my tooth... what is He trying to say to me? Why would I think that a tooth ache is a message from my Lord? I prayed for forgiveness as I felt washed in guilt. That didn't seem to fit... I couldn't fall back to sleep. I was restless and didn't know what I was missing. I relieved my pain with some aspirin and restlessly put my head on my pillow.

John 10:27-29
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."

I should have prayed for Sandra... her tooth was aching too - same time, but miles away. Her body is battling cancer - God knows why her tooth ached and told me about it, the best way possible; he gave me a tooth ache! I'm unsettled by my lack of ability to discern what Jesus was saying. I need to seek that which God would have me do for others. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:37-39
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. and the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."

After years of walking with my Jesus, my friend, I still struggle to say that "I love" my God. What does that mean? So all encompassing, how do I place it in my life? Before all things, all people - is my love for my God.

1John 5:3
"This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,..."

Not burdensome. Obeying is loving. Application of your knowledge of scripture and of what Jesus would have you do, is loving God. Not that complicated. We even tell our own children these very words about the 'rules' we have for them. After all that happens in life, we need to remind ourselves to lean on Jesus, to follow him, to obey, and to find joy in that - to know that we love Him.

Psalm 62:5,7
"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him... and my honor depend on God."

All my ambitions, hopes, and plans. All for Jesus, I surrender them into his hands.

Listen for the voice that agrees with that. Rest in that.