Roy and his wife Daphne, out of their own brokenness, feel called to a retreat centre in Pembrokeshire. They stumble upon the simple act of blessing everyone who comes to them, blessing the valley, blessing the nearby towns. This simple act unleashes miracles–the farmers’ yields go up, the livestock have multiple births, B & B’s win awards, long-submerged streams start flowing. But they don’t seek to convict or convert, just to bless.
* * *
As his retreat centre prospers, and there are miracles, healings and deliverances from oppression, as people encounter the presence of God there, other people come wanting to know his “method.”
But he has no method to pass on. Roy Godwin writes, “The key is searching for God, learning to listen for his voice, burrowing into his heart, listening to what he says, and then doing it, however simple or complex it might be.
If He says it, do it. If He doesn’t tell you to do anything, then why are you doing things? Why not just sit at his feet?”
I love this.
* * *
Because sometimes, God puts you in a place in which learning to hear his voice is absolutely vital and crucial for you. A matter of health and sanity.
For me, as I’ve blogged before, I reached the stage where hearing the voice of God was vital for my life in 2006-2007, when we put both girls into an expensive private school, Oxford High School, and bought our dream house.
It rapidly became obvious that I would need to bring in real money, but how? I had taught Creative Writing at the College of William and Mary before, and found teaching was incompatible with writing, and too great a drain on my energy.
Write rapidly? In retrospect, I wish I had tried that–there have been books knocked off to pay for parent’s funerals (Johnson’s Rasselas) to pay off debts (Dostoevsky’s), but I didn’t have the faith or the energy.
Instead, I decided to start a business. I have three college and university degrees, but all in English and Creative Writing. What an amazing background to start a business with, right?
My first business attempt was exhausting and time-consuming. It was fun (selling antiquarian books) but definitely not sustainable for someone who loves leisure, reading and writing.
And so, as in Psalm 107, I had to continually cry out to the Lord in my distress, because I was SO tired, and SO overwhelmed, and life was SO hard. And he responded by removing the burden from my shoulders, setting my hands free from the basket. He gave me a sustainable idea–publishing the very antiquarian books which were so in demand when I put them up on auction on Ebay.
And that enterprise was greatly blessed because (as far as I could tell), it came from God’s brain, not mine.
* * *
So I stumbled upon the vital importance of what Roy Godwin says, “Searching for God, learning to listen for his voice, burrowing into his heart, listening to what he says…
I do set aside long hours, mostly on holiday (luckily the rest of my family have more hiking and swimming energy than I have) to seek God’s face, rest in his presence, to run through the details of my life with him, checking in with him about them, seeking his wisdom and guidance and correction on what I am currently doing, and seeking his guidance for the future.
* * *
Now I need to work on the second part of this paragraph, which leapt out at me last night. “If he doesn’t tell you to do anything, then why are you doing things? Why not just sit at his feet?” Indeed!! That is the other part of our life which needs to be put through the sieve when in the presence of God.
The things that are draining and sapping you, did God tell you to do them? No? Then just stop. Why not just sit at his feet and wait?
We need to have drastically pruned lives to bear fruit.
* * *
And so, I am increasingly putting my life through the sieve of God’s will.
What does he want me to do in each area of my life? And what I am currently doing which he never told me to do? And this includes innocuous things, good things, helpful things–but which, however, are not things that God told me to do.
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Anita Mathias says
Thanks, Hans, blessings, Anita
Hans says
I needed to read this. Thanks.
Anita says
@Chris, How hard that is, to be not do. To relinquish control over our time of prayer, our time, our agendas.
I increasingly feel I must learn to be, not do in times of prayer to be able to hear what he might say unexpectedly, in unexpected areas.
Thanks, Chris!
Chris Jefferies says
I was so pleased to find someone else posting a blog article about Roy Godwin, Ffald-y-Brenin, and 'The Grace Outpouring'.
I've also posted about them recently and back in May was able to visit the place with some friends.
Enjoy your time there!
For years I've been meeting at home with others and one of the first things the Lord told us was 'be, don't do'.
Anita says
Hi Rhoda, yes, and it takes character to wait, and is not easy at all–especially for an impulsive person like me!!
Rhoda says
Love your last paragraph 🙂 I'm also with you on waiting till I hear from God before doing things – at least things that will take time and commitment etc. Once at university I was waiting on God for an answer on whether to rent a room with friends next year and the deadline came up, and I hadn't got the answer. So I went with what made sense practically and signed the contract. Which I greatly regretted later as God led me to quit before the start of the next year so I paid for that room for an entire year and never once stayed in it! That has been a big reason for me now to always wait on God for biggish decisions 🙂
Anita says
Jo, At the end of his life, Christ said, “I have done the work YOU HAVE GIVEN ME TO DO.” How many of us can say that? Could it be because we are doing a lot of good things NOT specifically given us to do?
The good is the enemy of the best.
As to directions, I believe I heard directions both to blog, and to found our family's business. However, in the course of both, once on the motorway, so to say, more specific direction has come. Sometimes, I have done things without specific direction and exhausted myself.
His yoke is easy and his burden light. We often exhaust ourselves because we put on yokes we were never meant to bear.
Should we do something unless we have heard a divine direction for it? Tricky. We do run the risk of wasting time and effort. On the other hand, God has given us common sense and wisdom, and there is such a thing as “sanctified common sense.”
I think I would, personally, rather wait to hear from God.
Blessings,
Anita
Jo Royal says
Hello 🙂
I thoroughly enjoyed this post – not only because it is well written and entertaining – but because it has made me think. Having just written a blogpost about not always waiting around until things 'feel' right before going ahead and doing them – this post has made me consider whether I believe this should always be the case – or whether there are some things we should stop doing if we are not sure whether God has definitely called us to do them. Interesting. Should we always wait until we hear go – or go unless we hear stop? Hmmm 🙂
I appreciate being challenged in this! Thank you
Jo
ps … if you are interested my post can be found at http://www.joroyal.com – under 'The one with the Sat-Nav'