Today, I’m excited to share a guest post from Jo, at Quietly Roaring. She describes herself as “an Aussie Jesus-follower, wife, momma and nanna who loves camping, hanging out with family, playing with my dogs, and reading.” Jo is simply one of the most authentic Christian bloggers I’ve encountered. Her writing has a certain “realness” that is such an encouragement in the Lord. So, without further delay, here’s Jo!
At a visit to my husband’s work a while back he sat me in the recording studio, put headphones on my head, and said he wanted my opinion on something and could I have a listen? Sure I could! Testing, testing, 1..2..3! But the trouble was, a completely different thing was coming through my headphones compared to what he was hearing in his headphones!
It was comical, but it’s a picture that reminds me that we’ve each been given a set of “spiritual headphones” and we’ll each hear different things as God speaks to our individual circumstances.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom 10:17).
We can be inspired by other people’s faith. We can have role models or mentors. But faith comes by hearing God’s word to our own spiritual ears!
Last year I battled cancer. I needed healing, so I devoured sermons and books on the topic but quickly realised that I wasn’t going to be able to rely on someone else’s faith formula or read a set of faith instructions to get me through it. I could glean certain principles, but ultimately I needed to know (and fast) where my own faith was at…what was God saying to me? Faith comes by hearing…so I needed to listen!
Throughout the gospels we read of how Jesus continually met people right where they were at with their faith.
To one blind man He spat on his eyes in order to heal him (Mark 8:22-25), and to another blind man He anointed his eyes with clay (John 9:6). In another instance Jesus merely spoke the word to heal a blind beggar (Mark 10: 46-52) and in another instance he healed two blind men by placing His hand over their eyes (Matt 9:27-30). All blind. Each one a unique individual with unique needs that Jesus spoke to. They heard His word to them, they trusted with the faith they had, and they obeyed.
I had to listen to what God was saying to me in my unique situation, and it’s the same for each of us whenever we face an obstacle, problem, or challenge.
Listen.
Trust.
Obey.
Isn’t it great how Jesus keeps it simple?
Sermons, books, and the wonderful devotionals and blogs here on Word Press are tools which God can use to encourage, inform, inspire, and challenge us. He speaks to us through them. But let’s ensure we are also in prayer and reading the Word for ourselves. By doing so, we’ll ensure our spiritual headphones are in good working order!
Testing, testing, 1..2..3!
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com
Davids Daily Dose 
Comments
43 responses to “Testing, Testing, 1..2..3!”
Thanks for commenting Craig. For sure, what you say is so true…we can’t see the particular purposes and just have to draw closer trusting “He’s got this!”
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Wow, Craig! You summarized what I think Jo said is this post perfectly. Thank you for sharing! God Bless.
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What great insight. Too often, I’m afraid, we all want a simple answer or formula (I think it’s our nature, surely if such a thing existed we wouldn’t want to be ignorant of it), but as you point out in matters of faith it doesn’t work that way. The Lord allows trials into our lives for particular purposes and those purposes invariably involve our relationship to Him. This makes them uniquely personal and our drawing closer to Him in prayer and in His word is a vital part of His purpose.
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I agree Jo this is a great community. Truly the greatest blessing I have found in my blogging journey is the community of believers that share their work within the WP venue. For the first time, I feel tangibly connected to the worldwide body of Christ and my newly found brothers and sisters in Christ like yourself have been such an encouragement to me in their own writings as well as in the comments they leave on my blog.
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Thank you Mandy. My unsaved sister reads my blogs and I always have her in mind as I write, so I can’t be anything but real and authentic! Praise God for your dad’s remission and getting hold of him through it, I pray always God will do the same for my sister. Bless you.
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Thank you, Mandy. It’s neat that you mentioned the fact that God has no grand children. I had the same thought yesterday while pondering over Jo’s excellent post. Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts. God Bless!
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David and Jo, what a great post! I need to pray to hear God more as life gets more and more hostile! I am constantly reminded that God has no grandchildren and that we are all responsible to be in tune with Christ to the greatest extent possible. My dad is in remission from cancer. I can honestly say I never prayed for my dad to be healed but for him to come to know Christ. Thankfully God used cancer to get a hold of my dad. I am thankful for your authenticity, Jo. It is my prayer for Christians to be authentic and real. Have a blessed Lord’s Day David and Jo!
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It sure touches way too many. I’m grateful Jesus remains with me through the good and the bad.
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I am glad you have recovered.
I watched loved ones go through that and it is nasty.
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Thanks so much Alan! It’s 7am Sunday and a beautiful day here. 🌄
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Hi Jo my sister from Oz🇦🇺😁
It was great to read your guest post for David – you did a great job. I love it when folk say they read me each day, it motivates me as I think of them while I write.
God bless you richly on the Lord’s Day, when it arrives.
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😆👍
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Ugh! I was sooo close…. Have a go, mate! Got it!
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Hi Beth, I smile because I was delighted not long ago to read Alan’s daily devotional and see your beautiful guest post! What a great community on here!
Blessings to you and yours Beth!
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Nice to meet you too Jo🤗
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Hi Funmi nice to meet you! Thanks for commenting, I am so glad it encouraged you. 🙂
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Hi Andy I’m so grateful to David for sharing my post, and so encouraged to hear it encouraged you! Thank you!
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Hi Simply B thanks for stopping by and commenting. I really like your term “prayerful filtering”. Going to remember that one! I pray God speaks to whatever your unique situation is today. 🙏 Blessings to you.
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Have a go is quite correct David, although if you added “mate” on the end it would be a touch more authentic. 😉
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Hi Alan my Scottish friend! You were one of the first people who liked my blog and I’m so grateful for the encouragement you give. I read your devotion daily. It’s such a blessing.
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Hi G.W yes I never thought of that but you’re very right! We need spiritual insight/sight just as much as hearing. Blessings to you!
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Nice to meet you Betty and to welcome you as a follower! I really appreciate this opportunity David has provided through his own wonderful blog!
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Bright and early here, but the sun is shining and I’m about to have my cup of tea. ☕
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Hi Bridget nice to meet you! Thank you for commenting I’m glad you got something out of it. 🙂
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“Everyone else needs to show ID!” Love it!
Thanks for the wonderful introduction David and the opportunity to be your guest today.
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Thank you for reading and commenting, Beth. More of us should be Quiet Roarers. It’s why we need headphones!
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Hi Gary, yes I agree! I recall as a young christian needing those kinds of words from people regularly, but as we mature in God it’s almost like the parent taking the training wheels off the bike and saying “you’re big enough to do this yourself!” 🙂
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David, How delightful to tune into your blog and find a Daily Dose from Jo this week. I agree whole heartedly with your description. She is “simply one of the most authentic Christian bloggers I’ve encountered.”
Jo, your words “I had to listen to what God was saying to me in my unique situation, and it’s the same for each of us whenever we face an obstacle, problem, or challenge” resonated loudly.
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Thank you Jo for today’s article. I love how you describe that God meets us at the level where our faith is and that devotionals, articles and blog posts just aid the process. I really did need to hear this.
Thank you!!
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It’s the same here on he rarely snow covered plains of south Oklahoma. ❄️
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Blessings to you and yours, too! Lovely sunny day here in the snow covered South of Kansas.
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Excellent post, thank you for sharing. There are clearly general principles that we all must follow as Christians, and yet God deals with us as individuals and so we must learn to listen to him and follow his guidance. Very encouraging, thank you again
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I’m glad to share this little blog spot with others. And as I told you, brother, you are one of the folks who inspired me to “have a go” at hosting posts for others. I think they say that in Australia? 🇦🇺 Have a go! Anyway, I know it’s the hottest part of summer in the Land Down Under at the moment. Quite unlike the weather in our latitudes.🧊 All the best blessings of the Lord to you and the whole Kearn’s clan!
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You’re welcome, Simply B. I’m glad God spoke to you through Jo’s thoughts. It’s not always easy to cut through all the static to hear His voice. This is why keeping our heavenly headphones in working order is necessary. I hope you have a great weekend! Blessings.
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That’s awesome, Betty. Hopefully more and more folks will tune in to Jo’s blog. It’s certainly worth the read. I hope you and Dan enjoy your Saturday as well!
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Thank you for sharing this post, David. It was fresh insight to me that I needed. Listen closely for the unique voice of God for my unique situations. Sometimes we do hear from God through the words of others. Prayerful filtering is key. It’s all about close relationship with the One who knows us best and loves us most. Only God is qualified to understand and advise.
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I love the headphones illustration Jo, making sure we are tuned in to God and His Word in our life. He is the best filter in our daily walk with Him.
Thank you David for sharing your blog with our sister, may God bless you both.
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A very good reminder, Jo! I can see how this could also be applied to sight or insight. Blessings.
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Thanks for sharing, David. I followed Jo’s blog. I look forward to reading her posts! Enjoy your Saturday!
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You’re welcome, Bridget. As I said, the authenticity of Jo’s walk with God really comes out in her writing. She plans to check in later, Brisbane is 16 hours ahead, and engage with comments. Thank you for stopping by! Blessings.
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I love it, Gary! I’ve had moments like the one you describe. I always think, “God’s been talking to you about little old me?” Like it says on our coins and currency: “In God We Trust.” Everyone else needs to show some ID.
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A thought provoking message. Thank you for sharing. 🤗
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Wonderful insight. Awhile back someone approached me “God told me to tell you…”
Me: Mind if I confirm that?
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