Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, March 6, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I used to have incredible dreams. Of course, I found out that part of the reason was that I have a nocturnal limb movement disorder that was waking me up an average of 3 ½ times an hour (not 100%, but pretty much) so I was living with acute sleep deprivation for the first 30 years of my life. But the good part about all of that was the dreams. Vivid, active, filled with symbolism and meaning. I have felt the direct guidance of God in my dreams more times than I can count, and have acted on that guidance to good effect many times. So when I read that “in the night also my heart instructs me” it makes me think of all the times I woke up in the morning with clear memories of how my heart was instructing me on how to handle a difficult situation or move forward on some plan or other or, in some cases, to make major life changes that would transform things in a major way for the better.
Sometimes I miss those dreams. But God continues to give me counsel—sometimes shockingly directly—in myriad ways, not least of which through my daily reading and writing practice for my recovery programs and the feedback from sponsors and fellows and people in my life who know me intimately. Sometimes the things that come out of my pen surprise me (I often say that the Holy Spirit lives most actively in the space between my brain and the tip of my pen—weird things happen in that gap, I tell you!) I guess all I’m saying is that God does give us counsel one way or another, and that’s cool.
How does God speak to me? How do I know it’s God?
