So, when did this “listening to God” thing start for me, anyway? It was in my late teens and early twenties that I began to follow God in earnest. I couldn’t get enough of His word. My Dad had passed away when I was young, so when I read, “I have called you by name, you are mine”, it touched me deeply. And so began my love relationship with Jesus.
I started to “take God at His word” and one of the passages was, “Earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy”. I longed for it, and I learned that when we long for something in scripture, God is ready to answer that prayer.
Fast forward a few years, I was a young mom and excited to wait on God for a prophetic word. I had set aside the time while my little ones were napping. Just as I was about to receive, my five-month-old woke up. “Well, there went THAT!” I muttered to myself. As she was crawling around on the floor in front of me, God suddenly gave me a prophetic word — deep, beautiful, and aligned with scripture. I was shocked. It was a profound word, but a more profound lesson – “Don’t let your limitations limit ME”, God said.
A few years later as a missionary in West Africa, I found myself in the middle of a very difficult and distressful meeting where two women in our group were accusing each other of some serious offenses. I was in leadership that year and everyone was looking to us to “solve it”. I was sweating bullets and sending up those silent “God, you’ve got to help me!” type prayers. It was miraculous what God did and how my African sisters were directed by the Holy Spirit. I knew God had intervened on our behalf. Months later, I learned that another listener in MN had been awakened in the middle of the night – the exact time of our meeting – to pray for me. I learned that when we are available to God, he may wake us up in the middle of the night to pray for someone.
Misty Edwards has a song called, “See the Way”. The chorus says, “God is a lover, looking for a lover, so He fashioned me, God is a lover, looking for a lover so He formed my heart”.
I began to understand that God loved me in a personal way. He knew me. He knew what delighted me, and when I least expected it, He would leave me “love notes” …little signs that He had fashioned me for His love.
I love to play games and God knows that. During a time of trials, he said to me, “Do you want to play Crossword?” I said, “What do you mean, Lord?” He said, “You write down the words that are painful and I will put my cross through them.” What an intimate God!
In more recent years, I began to make up songs as I drove to work. My car became my sanctuary, and I sang my heart out in praise. These were special times. Later someone was teaching on this verse from Song of Songs and how the Lord loves to hear your voice. He whispered to me, “That’s why I love those songs you sing to me in the car. I love to hear your voice.” Love tears ran down my face.
Song of Songs 2:14 starts out, “My dove” – a lover’s pet name for His beloved. God does this – He gives pet names to us, names known only to Him and us. He has one for me and He has one for you as well.
I want to share a song with you, a prophetic song that the Lord gave me. The first verse shows us that God has loved us since the foundation of the world, calls us by name and delights in us. We can trust that love as we walk with Him in our stories. The second verse helps us to see that even when things do not go well, God is the Redeemer and can redeem anything. The third verse reminds us that every day is a new day. We can always start anew and afresh.
But in all things, remember that the ink with which He writes our story is full of His love.
There is Love in the Ink by Elaine Hanson, February 2021
Verse 1
Long, long ago your story began
When I wrote your name on the palm of My hand
I knit you together in the secret place – I was the first one to see your face
I called you, you answered – You learned to call on Me, too
Then My story, was in your story And it called forth the only true you
Yes, it called forth the only true you
Chorus:
For there’s love in the ink in the pen in My hand, as I write your story that has no end
For I call you to rest and listen, then stand, as I write your story that has no end
Verse 2:
I know there are chapters you’d love to erase, but I can redeem it, cover it with grace
My grace is sufficient and I never change – let’s turn the page and begin again
I call you, you answer, you know to call on Me, too
For My story is in your story and it calls forth the only true you
Yes it calls forth the only true you
Chorus:
Verse 3:
Remember, My child, each day is brand new – My mercy abounds and I’m cheering for you
My eye is on you and I’m at your side, together we will conquer as we abide
I call you, you answer, you know to call on Me, too
For My story is in your story and it calls forth the only true you
Yes it calls forth the only true you
Chorus:
For there’s love in the ink in the pen in My hand, as I write your story that has no end
For I call you to rest and listen, then stand, as I write your story that has no end