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Reflection · Wilder Whispers Podcast

0:07
SPEAKER_00: Hey friend, welcome to Wilder Whispers, a space where we slow down and listen for God's voice in the ordinary moments of life.
0:15
SPEAKER_00: I'm Shay Wooden, and I'm so glad you're here.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: We often expect God to speak through big moments, a sermon, a breakthrough, a perfectly quiet prayer time, and he does.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: But so often, he chooses quieter ways, in the middle of everyday life, in the unnoticed moments, in gentle whispers that invite us closer.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: Each episode, I'll share one simple story and the quiet truth God revealed through it.
0:42
SPEAKER_00: Not because it was extraordinary, but because he was present.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: So wherever you are right now, take a breath, let's slow down and listen together.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: Our lives were meant to reflect the glory of God.
0:59
SPEAKER_00: Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3.18 that as we behold the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into his image, from glory to glory by the Spirit of God.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: The more we behold him, the more we become like him.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: And little by little, his character becomes visible through our lives.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: That's the beautiful purpose of transformation.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: When people encounter us, they should see something that points beyond us.
1:27
SPEAKER_00: They should see Jesus.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: But that raises a question I've been thinking about.
1:32
SPEAKER_00: How clearly are we reflecting him?
1:35
SPEAKER_00: Because we can love Jesus.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: We can belong to Jesus.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: And there can still be things happening within us that affect the clarity of that reflection.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: Recently, God used something in my own backyard to show me something about reflection that I hadn't really thought about before.
1:52
SPEAKER_00: We have a pond in our backyard, and one of my favorite things about it is the reflection.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: When the water is clear and still, the pond becomes almost like a mirror.
2:01
SPEAKER_00: The trees surrounding it are reflected across the surface of the water.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes the reflection is so clear that you can actually see the branches and leaves moving in the breeze.
2:12
SPEAKER_00: But here's what I've noticed: it takes the right conditions for that reflection to be clear.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: Recently we went through a pretty intense heat wave here in northwest Indiana, day after day of really hot temperatures, and as the heat continued, the condition of the pond began to change.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: Algae appeared, pond scum collected on the surface, debris floated across the water, and little by little the reflection became harder to see.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: Trees were still there, they hadn't moved, they hadn't changed.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: But what I saw reflected in the water had changed because the water itself had changed.
2:49
SPEAKER_00: Then, after all that heat, we had several days of rain.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: And of course, while it was raining, there wasn't much of a reflection at all.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: The surface was constantly moving.
3:00
SPEAKER_00: Raindrops were hitting the water, ripples were spreading across the pond.
3:06
SPEAKER_00: Even if the water had been perfectly clean, it couldn't have reflected the trees clearly while the surface was being disturbed.
3:14
SPEAKER_00: But then the rain stopped.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: And the next morning I walked outside.
3:19
SPEAKER_00: The sun was shining, the water had settled, and I couldn't believe how clear the pond was.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: The algae was gone.
3:27
SPEAKER_00: The pond scum was gone.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: There was very little debris left on the surface.
3:32
SPEAKER_00: And the water was still.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: There, stretched across the pond, were the trees.
3:39
SPEAKER_00: Clearly reflected again.
3:42
SPEAKER_00: The same trees that had been there through the heap, and the same trees that had been there through the rain.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: They had been there all along.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: What had changed was the water.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: And now that the water was both clear and still, the reflection was beautiful.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: And that's when I felt the whisper.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: What's happening in the water changes what you see reflected in it.
4:07
SPEAKER_00: When the water was clouded, the reflection was harder to see.
4:12
SPEAKER_00: When the water was stirred up, the reflection was distorted.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: And when the water became clear and still again, the reflection returned.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: And I began to wonder, if my life is meant to reflect Jesus, what might be affecting how clearly others see him in me?
4:32
SPEAKER_00: The more I thought about that reflection in the pond, the more I started thinking about what a reflection actually is.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: A reflection a reflection only exists because there is an original.
4:44
SPEAKER_00: When you look into a mirror, the mirror doesn't create the image.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: It simply reflects the person standing in front of it.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: And maybe that sounds obvious, but I think there's something important there for us.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: We aren't the original.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: We're not trying to create some version of Jesus for the world to see.
5:04
SPEAKER_00: And we're not trying to make ourselves look more like him through our own effort.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: The Spirit is transforming us into his image.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: Our lives are meant to reflect him.
5:15
SPEAKER_00: And that's what I want my life to do.
5:18
SPEAKER_00: I don't want people to simply see a better version of me.
5:21
SPEAKER_00: I want them to see Jesus.
5:23
SPEAKER_00: But here's what I noticed about that pond.
5:26
SPEAKER_00: What I saw reflected depended on the condition of the water.
5:31
SPEAKER_00: And there were two very different things affecting it.
5:34
SPEAKER_00: There were things in the water that obscured the reflection, and there were things disturbing the water that distorted it.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: Let's start with what was in the water.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: In the pond it was algae, pond scum, and debris.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: They had accumulated on the surface until the reflection became harder to see.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: And things can accumulate in us too.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: Bitterness can cloud the way we reflect his grace.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: Unforgiveness can cloud the way we reflect his mercy.
6:04
SPEAKER_00: Pride can cloud the way we reflect his humility.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Selfishness can cloud the way we reflect his love.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's hypocrisy, the difference between what we say we believe and the way we actually live.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's compromise.
6:21
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's a hardness that is slowly developed in our hearts.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: And just like that algae on the pond, those things can accumulate.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: One offense we keep holding on to, one attitude we keep excusing, one area we know God has been dealing with, but we keep pushing it aside.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: Little by little, the water becomes clouded.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: John talks about this very plainly in 1 John 2.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: He says that someone can claim to be in the light and still harbor hatred toward a brother or a sister.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: In other words, we can say the right things about Jesus while something happening in our hearts is telling a different story.
6:59
SPEAKER_00: And that matters.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: Because people aren't only hearing what we say about Jesus, they're watching what our lives say about him.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: How do I respond when someone hurts me?
7:10
SPEAKER_00: How do I treat someone who frustrates me?
7:13
SPEAKER_00: Do the people closest to me experience the Jesus I tell others about?
7:18
SPEAKER_00: Because if my life is reflecting him, I don't want something in me giving someone else an unclear picture of who he is.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: What accumulates in us can obscure the reflection.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: But I noticed something else about the pond.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: The water didn't have to be clouded for the reflection to be affected.
7:40
SPEAKER_00: The water could be perfectly clean, and if the surface was moving the reflection still wasn't clear.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: I noticed it while the rain was falling.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: Every raindrop created another ripple.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: The water moved it, and the image moved with it.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: That's when I realized there's an important distinction here.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: Some water needs cleansing, other water needs stilling.
8:04
SPEAKER_00: Because not everything that affects our reflection is something sinful that needs to be removed.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we're simply troubled, we're anxious, we're afraid, we're exhausted, we're hurried, our minds are racing, our emotions are unsettled.
8:21
SPEAKER_00: There are so many voices, so many demands, so many things pulling at our attention that there never seems to be a quiet place within us.
8:30
SPEAKER_00: And then I think about Psalm 23.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: David says, He leads me beside the still waters, he restores my soul.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: I love that those two thoughts are connected.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: Still waters, a restored soul.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: And I love the picture of the shepherd here.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't stand over the sheep demanding, be still.
8:50
SPEAKER_00: He leads them.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: The psalmist said he leads me beside the still waters.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: And there, in his presence, he restores my soul.
9:01
SPEAKER_00: Maybe some of us don't need another attempt to fix ourselves.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: We need to let the shepherd lead us.
9:07
SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes there's nothing clouding the water.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: The water is simply troubled.
9:13
SPEAKER_00: And a troubled soul needs restoration.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: The water needs to become still again.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: And the shepherd knows how to lead us there.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: And this is what I love about what happened with the pond.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: The water didn't clear itself.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: The heat revealed what was there.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: The rain washed away what had accumulated, and then the water settled.
9:35
SPEAKER_00: Heat revealed, rain washed, stillness settled, the reflection returned.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: And I think there's a beautiful picture in that of what God does in us.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the Holy Spirit reveals something that needs to be cleansed.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: And when he does, we can bring it to him.
10:01
SPEAKER_00: Other times the water simply needs to become still.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: And the shepherd knows how to restore a troubled soul.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: He knows what the water needs.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: The Spirit reveals, the Spirit cleanses, the shepherd restores.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: Our part is to yield to his work.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: And as we do, what had been obscured or distorted begins to clear.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: Not because we made ourselves a better reflection, but because God tended to the water.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: So what is the condition of the water in you?
10:35
SPEAKER_00: Maybe the question isn't how well am I reflecting Jesus?
10:39
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's simply Holy Spirit.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: What is affecting the reflection?
10:44
SPEAKER_00: Is there something that needs to be cleansed?
10:47
SPEAKER_00: Is there something within that needs to be stilled?
10:50
SPEAKER_00: David prayed, Search me, O God, and know my heart.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's our prayer too.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit, show me the condition of the water.
11:00
SPEAKER_00: Show me what needs to go.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: Show me what needs to become still.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: And help me respond to what you want to do in me.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: Because this isn't ultimately about the condition of the water.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: It's about who the water reflects.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: Whatever he shows you, let him tend to it.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: If something needs cleansing, bring it to him.
11:23
SPEAKER_00: If your soul needs restoring, follow the shepherd beside still waters.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: You're not responsible for transformation.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: That's the work of the Spirit.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: Let him reveal.
11:35
SPEAKER_00: Let him cleanse.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: Let him restore.
11:39
SPEAKER_00: Let him transform until more of Jesus can be seen in you.
11:45
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
11:47
SPEAKER_00: Father, thank you that you don't leave us to transform ourselves.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: You have given us your spirit, and you are continually doing your work in us.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: So today, we invite you to search our hearts.
12:00
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit, show us anything that is clouding the reflection.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: Cleanse what needs to be cleansed, and help us surrender what you reveal.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: And Lord, you also know when the water is simply troubled.
12:14
SPEAKER_00: Lead us beside still waters.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: Restore our souls.
12:19
SPEAKER_00: Quiet what has become unsettled within us.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: And keep transforming us from glory to glory into your image.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: We don't want our lives to draw attention to ourselves.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: We want them to point to you.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: Let more and more of Jesus be seen through us.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: In the name of Jesus we pray.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: I keep thinking about that morning beside the pond.
12:45
SPEAKER_00: The heat had passed, the rain had stopped.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: The water was clear.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: The surface was still.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: And there were the trees.
12:54
SPEAKER_00: The same trees that had been there all along.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: But now I could see them clearly.
13:00
SPEAKER_00: A clear pond, a still surface, a reflection that looked like the original.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: And that's what I want my life to be.
13:09
SPEAKER_00: Not a life that draws attention to self, but a life that little by little, from glory to glory, looks more and more like Jesus.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: And today's whisper to carry with you is this let him tend the water and let the reflection look more like Jesus.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for spending this time with me on Wilder Whispers.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: I hope today's story reminded you that God is closer than we often realize and that he's still speaking, even in the ordinary moments of life.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: Whispers are the language of closeness.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: They invite us to lean in.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: As you go about your day, whether you're working, resting, driving, or just trying to catch your breath, stay attentive.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: God is not far away.
13:53
SPEAKER_00: He's not silent.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: He's near and he's speaking.
13:57
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep listening.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: This is Wilder Whispers, and I'm Jay Wood.