My Sheep Hear my Voice and they follow me

 

 

Anyone who takes their faith and the Christian mission seriously will ultimately face some form of conflict or persecution and find themselves in need of God’s guidance. Whilst I believe He always finds a way it’s a good policy to develop the practice of listening for the voice of God by entering into adoration or some form of meditation or silent prayer so when the crisis comes, which it will, your ears will be trained to hear. 

A few years ago my brother was in the Adoration Chapel at his local church, kneeling before the monstrance, earnestly seeking God’s guidance in his predicament. Just then his phone beeped. It was a message which read “time to break out the blue paint” followed by a photograph of Hamish, a character from the movie Brave Heart with an orange beard, a blue face, and a large sharpened Axe. 

I know this because I sent the text message. I was 12,000 miles away in the Philippines having read the account of what was happening in his life and was pondering the situation myself in prayer when I felt prompted to send the text. It’s one of our favourite movies and I knew he would understand the meaning easily. It was necessary to resist and fight this particular corner. 

I had faced similar treatment from an employer 20 years before, so I could see the trajectory and the gas lighting techniques designed to wear people down into submission and resignation. That he worked for a Catholic charity made it more surprising (and a rather dreadful betrayal; they even employed an outside ‘consultant’ to orchestrate the assassination so as not to have blood on their hands). But I knew the architect of the scheme; a deceitful man seemingly hell bent on ruining 20 years of good work; many enemies of the church have infiltrated Catholic organisations with this in mind in similar fashion. 

The battle would ultimately seem to be lost; as was mine years before. But a sacrifice for what is right and proper, even if it costs you everything, is always worthwhile. There is no better place to stand than with God; as we stand with Him now, later He will stand with us at the victory parade in Heaven.