A Conversation with Margaret Feinberg
By Jim and Sheri Mueller
An Interview with author Margaret Feinberg
about her book,
The Sacred Echo.
Margaret, what’s the difference between
an echo and a whisper?
You
know, Jim, it’s interesting you ask that because the very first book that I
ever wrote was called God Whispers, and it was based on that passage in 1 Kings
19 with Elisha on the mountainside and the Scripture just beautifully says that
as God was coming near to speak to Elisha that He was not in the fire, the
wind, or the earthquake but that he was in that gentle whisper. That very first
book was about hearing the whispers of God—those times when God draws near in
those unexpected ways. I have been finding over the last eight years, since
I’ve read that book is that when God speaks so often it’s not just as a
whisper, but it’s an echo. There’s something repetitive and persistent about
the nature in which God speaks.
Scripture
says that God was not in the earthquake, the wind or the fire, I have to ask,
But who was?
Just
as God used the earthquake, the wind and the fire to get Elisha’s attention,
he’s often using the repetitive nature of events in our own lives to get our
attention.
Just
as God used the earthquake, the wind and the fire to get Elisha’s attention,
he’s often using the repetitive nature of events in our own lives to get our
attention.
The
sacred echo is the persistent voice of God. It’s that moment when we wake in
the morning, and maybe we’re spending time in Scripture, and a certain passage
or a certain verse just pops off the page. Then we go to church on Sunday
and—boom —here is a pastor or preacher teaching on the exact same passage. Then
we have a conversation with a friend later up in the week, and maybe that topic
comes up again. Then we flip open the page on our Christian calendar or day
planner and—boom—there is the passage again. It’s the idea that God is so
persistent in the way that he speaks, and at those times when we experience
those reoccurring themes, we start to ask the question,
Maybe, just maybe, God is speaking. What is He trying to say?
Margaret, what kinds of echoes are you
hearing these days?
One
of the things that I feel the Lord has been echoing into my heart is the word
“gentle”—“just gentle, Margaret, gentle.” It was interesting because as I was
aware of that theme of gentle, I’d see it in a book or a magazine that I was
reading and that word would just pop off the page, or it would come up in a
conversation or someone would just randomly, I appreciate your gentleness.
It
forced me to go back into Scripture — which I think is the ultimate source for
when we think we’re hearing from God — and I began to do a word study on the
word “gentle”. One of the passages that really caught my attention was when
Jesus was riding in on a donkey into Jerusalem before his death and
resurrection. Jesus is described as gentle. I don’t think that word was by
chance, or it was misplaced or it was an extra adjective that the writers had
thrown in. It was a meaningful word to describe the attitude and the posture
with which Jesus entered into his ultimate sacrifice and service for humanity.
I
thought in my own life, God is inviting me to that spirit of gentleness that
reflects Jesus, as I serve and as I live every day.
How does a person tune in to these
echoes? I have to believe there are people saying,
I don’t hear a thing. What’s with this echo business?
First
of all, I think it’s important to have a humble heart and to ask God in prayer,
God, if you are really out there and you
are really trying to get my attention, please speak to me and give me eyes to
see the ways you’re speaking and ears to hear and a heart that is sensitive to
those moments.
Secondly,
it's no mistake the Bible is called “God’s Word.” It's that book that we are
invited to dialogue with God in and through. I think we’ll never hear God's
voice as clearly, concisely or as precisely as when we spend time in Scripture.
My
encouragement is to possibly consider maybe getting a different translation of
the Bible, one that’s easier for you to read. If you’re not a book person, I
would encourage you to consider buying an audio Bible. Scripture is something
that you can listen to while you’re driving in your commute, or before you go
to bed at night. I think through
intentionality of spending time in God’s Word, we’re going to find that there
are certain stories that you just can’t shake out of your mind. There are
certain passages, certain terms and phrases within God’s Word that are going to
follow you. As they follow you, you’re going to find them popping up again and
again and at those moments taking time to ask and say, God, is this from you?
What are you trying to say to me
?
How does a person discern God’s voice
in this busy world with all these distractions and static?
Great
question. Again, primarily I think it is the Word. Scripture is the foundation
and the filter for all that we hear from God. If something that we hear does
not line up with Scripture, I think we should toss it out the window. With that
said, there are certain things that we may feel a little nudging from God, and
it may be not something that was clearly spelled out in Scripture. We may
wonder,
Well, that doesn’t go against God’s Word, but how do I know if that
is from God?
At
that point there are some pretty great questions that you can ask.
Number
one:
Does what I heard leave me with a sense of peace?
Jesus
described himself as the Prince of Peace. The thing that God gives to us so
often when he speaks is that sense of shalom, a sense of deep centered peace so
that we know that it is from him. It’s a kind of peace that the world cannot
provide or try to compete with.
A
second question is:
Is what I
heard blanketed in love?
I
think that’s really important because God will never ask us to do anything with
a harmful or mean spirit, or with criticalness. God is not in the business of
tearing down people. I believe He's in the business of redeeming and restoring
mankind.
A
third question to ask is:
Does
what I heard line up with the wise counsel in my life?
All
of us need people who are older and wiser to provide guidance to speak up, to
help figure out these things that we’re
hearing.
My
encouragement is that if you don’t already, find these people and make them a
part of your life. Then, when you feel you're hearing from God, let them know.
Does this sound right? Is this consistent with the vision of where God has been
leading me, and what He’s done in the past? I think by asking those questions
you can discern whether what you’re hearing is from God or not.
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