Spiritual Sonar

My wife and I were watching a series called "Away," not that long ago, about a group of astronauts who embarked upon a mission to Mars. Along the way, of course, they encountered all sorts of problems that, if left unsolved, could've escalated into life threatening situations, given the circumstances. After all, what kind of a plot would it have been if there were no rising action, and forces of nature, antagonistically bearing down against our heroes? Certainly not a compelling one.

One of these such obstacles that the crew faced was trying to locate another ship that had been sent as a sort baton that had been passed, released into orbit to a particular location where they could exit their travel worn rocket, and resume travel in this new spacecraft.

For one reason or another they couldn't locate it at the time when they needed to most, and they knew if they were to stay on the ship where they currently resided, death was imminent.

As each of the crew members obsessively worked to figure out a way to locate the "hand-off" ship that had been lost, they talked through a bunch of scientific equations and hypothetical scenarios, in hopes that they would finally stumble their way into a feasible solution. But, none came, - until one of the astronauts/scientists had a eureka moment! This occured when, having a completely unrelated conversation with one of her crew mates, she began to realize that if they were to intentionally blow up an outer part of the ship that was considered to be expendable, the sound and force from the blast would act as a sort of sonar that would then potentially bounce off of the missing ship's location, and return to them, within the range of their instruments' detection. Lovers of animals, who are the least bit familiar with National Geographic, or the Discovery Channel, will immediately remember that certain species of whales, and bats, use this God-given, and innate sonar all the time to move around without catching into anything, and to hunt and catch their food as well.

Back to the movie: the astronauts then, amidst all the fanfare of a modern American action-drama, tried their newfound theory, and against all odds, it worked!

This got me thinking. (surprise, surprise! 😂)

For some reason, I felt deeply in my spirit that there was something about this picture of sonar and all of its processes, that resonated within me, that I knew was related to the spiritual life that we as believers are all called to live. At first, I couldn't quite put my finger on why this analogy seemed so familiar, but then a short while later, it hit me!

The sound that we make as children of God, via our prayers, our worship, and our words, when released from a sincere heart of thanksgiving, or petitions sent up to the very Throne Room of God, act as a sort of "Spiritual Sonar" that then return back to our spirits, hearts, and minds, via God's answer to them!

This gives us a sense, not with our natural eyes, but in The Spirit, of when or how many steps to take, how far the unseen obstacles are in front of us, or where the target area of our calling and destiny lays ahead of us.

I can see how a reader may be tempted to think this analogy might be pushing it just a bit, and I understand why, as I experienced a tingle of that myself at first glance. However my "knower," or my spirit, via The Holy Spirit Himself kept telling me to follow it all the way through.

Let's see if we can't support this position from Scripture, as I whole heartedly believe that we can.

First, we have God Himself speaking through His his chosen vessel, the prophet Isaiah, about how He, God that is, engages in this act of speech, and with it this incredibly Divine interchange.

Isaiah 55:11

11 "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

So there we have our first piece of evidence. God indeed did, and does speak His word, and declares that He does it with the expectation of it not only accomplishing what He sent it to do, but returning to Him, like the sound waves return to the one who sends them out within the processes of sonar, and all of its various ramifications.

And since we are, as Genesis 1:27 clearly states, made in God's image, we too are speaking spirits housed within our bodies, who also possess the ability to speak, yes even with faith and expectation that our words will accomplish something towards a given end, as long as that end is in line with God's Word and will for our lives!

The second passage of scripture that I believe paints a similar picture is located in Romans 8: 26-30

26 "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

And so we see again, this incredible spiritual rhythm of a sort of call and response.

Yes, even after we grow tired in Prayer, or feel that we can't even adequately articulate in words what our true requests of the Lord should be, God, who is able to Hear in the Spirit, what we cannot hear audibly, can hear the very emotions of our heart via His Holy Spirit who lives within us, and is able to in turn inspire us along the right lines in Prayer!🙏🏼❤️👏🏼

Simply incredible

Glory to God, who loves us THAT MUCH!

It is this exact process that is the very personification of "Deep calling unto deep." (Psalm 42:7-8)

In the book of Psalms 22:3-5 of The New Living Translation, for example, we see a similar process in just a slightly different context take place,

3"Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4 Our ancestors trusted in you,

and you rescued them.

5 They cried out to you and were saved.

They trusted in you and were never disgraced."

There it is again, a call and response between Almighty God and His people, who after placing their full trust in God, and crying out with a humble and sincere heart, NEVER FAILED to be rescued by Him in the end!

We as Christians would do undoubtedly well to let their testimonies strengthen our faith, as we are among that number that endeavors to trust God and cry out to Him with our whole hearts, knowing that He will deliver us, not on our clock, or according to how we think it should be done, but according to His will, He will nevertheless DELIVER US EVERY TIME!!!

This brings us to our last example for today: In Ezekiel 37:3-6

3 "He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Again, what a breathtakingly beautiful example of what it looks like when we, as Inspired by The Holy Spirit, speak in line and in conjunction with God's prompting, His Word, and His will. The "dry bones" of our emotions, our thought lives, our relationships, and on and on in God's perfect timing, become enfleshed and healed, in Jesus' Name! 🙏🏼👏🏼

The Bible is filled with many other examples of what happens when we release our faith through the obedience of our mouths via our words in line with God's holy Word. I encourage you to read as many of them as you can, as "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by The Word of God." Romans 10:17

But, in the meantime, don't stop PRAYING, don't stop WORSHIPPING, and don't stop SPEAKING The Word of God in alignment with His will for your life! 🙏🏼

Questions and Reflection:

When I think about the words that come out of my mouth on a regular basis, do those words reflect an agreement between my heart and God's Word, and will for my life?

If not, how come? And, what can I do to establish a greater level of discipline, consistency, and accountability in that area of my walk with God?

Prayer:

All Loving, and Almighty God, we come before You with genuine gratitude and thankfulness for who You are, and what you have done for each of us.

Lord, we thank you also from the bottom of our hearts that You have loved us enough to reveal to us in Your Word how to participate in this delicate and sacred dance, of a call and response to and with you, Father

That we may truly become ever more sensitive to Your touch, and Your voice, as You continue to speak to us, "As deep calls unto deep," (Psalms 42:7) Lord.

Lord, we ask that You now release to us a fresh new dispensation of Your Grace, and Power through The Holy Spirit that will enable us to continue to surrender our hearts, lives, and wills in alignment with your will for us, as we continuously move in Faith back toward You, through our Prayers, our Worship, and our words, for our good and for Your Glory,

In the mightiest Name of Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray,

Amen! 🙏🏼

We sincerely hope and Pray that today's devotional was a Blessing to you! 🙏🏼 Don't hesitate to leave a comment or ask a question if you feel so inclined!

Your brother in Christ,

Neil Vandenbergh