Are you a voice or an echo? I heard this somewhere and it has stuck with me for years!
I have made it my personal goal in life to be a student of the Holy Spirit receiving fresh revelation regarding the Word of God. I am certainly not as gifted in this area as many of my colleagues and other contemporaries, but I am always excited when I see something in the Word that I had never seen before. I am pretty sure it was Sam Smucker who said while teaching in our leadership school, “The Word of God is pregnant with revelation.” I really like that statement. It is so encouraging knowing that even though I have read the same scripture many times previously, the Holy Spirit can and does bring about fresh revelation to my spirit.
A few weeks ago, I shared with you one of those revelations that came to me as I was reading in Isaiah 63:9 In all their suffering He also suffered…. It was a fresh reminder that God cares about what I am going through. He not an indifferent bystander.
I also have made it my personal goal in life to be a student of others and listen and learn from them things that they have learned in their life experiences. I like reading books because I can learn in a short time what has taken others a long time to learn. I just wish I was more disciplined and gave myself to more reading like some people I know. Because there are powerful revelations that others have received, I sometimes I repeat them to others because it is really good stuff.
When I share the things I receive from the Lord, I am being His voice to others. When I am sharing something someone else received, I am an echo. Both are important and both certainly carry value. I will say that it takes a lot more commitment and time to be a voice. It is pretty easy to be an echo. So, for me, primarily, I want to be a voice, but I will also continue to be an echo as both are important.
Whether you are being a voice or an echo, keep speaking. The world around you needs to hear!
D.O.V.E.