The Whisper of God in the big moments: Commissioning Weekend

 

Last weekend was a big weekend in my life and ministry. After studying at The Salvation Army’s William Booth training college for a year as a distance learning Territorial Envoy Cadet, I was commissioned and ordained as a minister with the rank of Lieutenant. On Sunday 14th July at The Salvation Army’s together 21 congress, I, along with 12 others who were in the ‘Defenders of Justice’ session were prayed over, affirmed, commissioned and sent out to spread the gospel. This day was a culmination of a time of preparation which included a retreat day, covenant day, reflections, learning the 11 doctrines of The Salvation Army and lots of rehearsals!

The Sunday before we were commissioned, we went on a beautiful retreat day at The Royal foundation of St. Katherine, and at the end of the day we shared some of the things God had been speaking to us about. One of the cadets shared some verses from 1 Kings 19:11-12

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

They shared about how we can often look to the big moments of revelation from God, but often it is in that still small voice or gentle whisper. This stuck with me throughout the week and reflecting back on so many things that have happened in the last fortnight, the moments where God has spoken most have been in the whispers. So I thought I would share some of those whispers with you to encourage you to look for the still small voice in your own lives and situations. 

A few days before the commissioning, we had Covenant day where we signed our covenants in preparation for commissioning. We had a beautiful time of worship and there were two gentle whispers that really affected me. The first was simply kneeling at the mercy seat to sign my covenant and thinking about all the people who had done this before me, including my parents. This was a very significant moment.

The mercy Seat at William Booth College Ready for Covenant day

The second was one of my favourite scripture verses that seems to follow me around being used in worship. The verse is Romans 12:1-2 (msg) 

The Flowers on display at Covenant day were a whisper too. Blue hydrangeas always remind my of my late mother-in-law who would have been cheering the loudest!

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”

On the day of commissioning in the midst of the pomp and ceremony and the thousands of people, there were some beautiful and encouraging whispers. Over the day I met with, and heard from people who have known me at every step and stage along my life. They each encouraged me, cheered me on and assured me of their prayers. This was so special and significant for me. 

Some of the special people cheering me on

Within the  service we had the opportunity to pray with our Divisional commander and close family. My daughter, on seeing me dove straight into my eyes and while I was being prayed over, she lay one hand on my head and one hand on my shoulder. It felt like in that whisper, she was showing me in her own little way that she was praying too!

My Little Girl and I on commissioning day

In the following days, I also had another couple of whispers. The day after commissioning, Paul and I decided to take some time just for ourselves so we went to an antique emporium in Stockport for a little mooch around. There I found a lovely trombone, and being a trombone player myself (I use the term player very loosely!) I decided to take a closer look and to my surprise I discovered it was a Salvation Army trombone made by SP&S. I had never come across one before. I had to buy it as a symbol to remember the journey I have been on. 

My Beautiful trombone...What a find!

The final whisper came in an unexpected way. A gentleman who I have been working with for some time came to me and explained he had watched part of the commissioning and wanted to gift me something to congratulate me and symbolise all my hard work. He has a collection of gemstones which was very precious to him and he proudly presented me with an amethyst from his collection. I was bowled over by his generosity and when I returned home and told Paul about this he told me about the biblical significance of Amethyst. It appears on the priestly ephod worn in the temple and it also appears in Revelation 21:19-20 when talking about the foundations of the city walls in the New Jerusalem. These foundations are made of precious jewels and the 12th and final foundation stone is amethyst. This was even more profound as I was the 12th and final cadet commissioned.

Today I challenge you to look, even among the big moments, for the whispers of God and his still small voice speaking over your life.