Chapter Six
Voices on a Mountain of Stone
“AND WHATEVER WE ASK, WE RECEIVE OF HIM, BECAUSE WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, AND DO THOSE THINGS THAT ARE PLEASING IN HIS SIGHT.” The Servant Girl sighed in contentment as she stood once more before golden words engraved upon a thick door. What treasures would she discover on the other side?
“Use your key, little one. The journey continues.”
She smiled and did as she was told. The two of them had traveled a long way down the corridor before coming to stand before this particular door. She bent to insert her key into the hole, and as before, the door opened easily and silently.
“Oh my!” she said. Once again they were venturing outdoors, but not into a garden or vineyard. This time they descended a few steps and found themselves directly on a bluff above a rocky beach, with foamy ocean waves rippling around the stones. A smooth dirt path curved gently down to the shoreline where she could see Two awaiting them. Her heart leapt. It was The King and His Son! With joyful anticipation she followed her Companion to the bottom. As she made her way down she could see that the boulders that extended out into the ocean also ascended into the rocky cliffs behind The King and His Son. In fact, a giant slab of stone like a flat sheer wall of granite stretched to the sky directly behind Them.
As they approached she saw that The King held a dove in his hand. “Greetings little one!” said The King with a smile. “Are you ready to continue your journey?”
“Oh yes, my Lord!”
“Good. You have already collected some herbs in the pouch that you were given, but there is a special patch at the top of this mountain.” The King gestured straight up to the pinnacle of the cliff behind Him. “You will ascend to the top and retrieve some for us.”
Her eyes slowly scanned the height of nature’s giant and she gasped. “Oh my King!” her voice quivered. “I can’t do this! Surely there is someone braver than I that can do this for you…isn’t there someone else?”
The King looked sadly into her eyes, but said nothing.
The King’s Son spoke gently to her, “There is no one else to accomplish this task. It is yours to do. You will not be alone in your ascent.”
She looked again at the jagged rock face and now the trembling within worked it’s way to her extremities and she began to shake all over. “Oh my Lord! No!” she cried. “Why would you have me do such a thing? How will I climb such a height? I’m too frightened!”
The Son, too, looked sadly into her eyes, and fell silent.
Her Companion took her hands and slowly turned her to face Him. “Hush, child.” He said. She was startled by the abrupt tone in His voice, yet there was still a gentleness about it. “One shouldn’t ask to serve The King if one has no intention of doing what He asks.”
Tears flooded her eyes, and she was overcome with shame.
“Don’t you see?” He said. “If you insist on disobedience, The King’s voice will grow softer and softer. The Son’s voice will grow softer and softer. And yes, My voice will grow softer and softer until you hear Us no more.”
“Oh please, no!” she cried. “I need to hear Your voice! I need You with me!”
“Distrust dishonors The King. Do you trust Us, little one?”
“I do!” she cried, desperate that she not be left alone.
“Then you must be ready to obey the commands that The King, The King’s Son and I ask of you. Are you ready to do that?”
“I’m so afraid,” she cried. “But I’m more afraid not to! Oh please help me to do this! Forgive my disobedience!”
“I will never leave you, child. This task will bring you to a new level of trust, I promise you. To a place where you will not feel the need to ask questions. Obedience ends where questioning begins.”
“I will do it! I will! I will do anything so as not to lose Your companionship!” she sobbed. “I just want to please You! Help me to believe You and trust Your plans for me!”
He took her in His arms and comforted her until her tears subsided. “I will never leave you, child,” He repeated…a whisper in her ear and in her heart. “This part of the journey will strengthen your heart, child. I will only ask you to do that which is for your best.”
“Then I want what You want,” she said. As she wiped her tears away she looked to The King and His Son. They each, in turn, drew her in close, embraced her, and spoke soft words of encouragement to her. Then The King said, “Well done, child. Never fear in sharing the burdens of Your heart with Us. Now, are you ready to begin your task?”
The fears seemed to lesson while They stood with her, and she nodded.
“Good,” said her Companion. “Do you see how this part of the cliff juts out?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“If you go around to the other side you will see that there is a way prepared for you to go.”
“You mean I don’t have to climb this wall?”
“Oh no, child. We will never ask you to do something that you are not capable of accomplishing. We have prepared a path that is made for you alone to take. We will stay here, yet We will also be with you.”
“I don’t understand…”
“I know child, but you will. I told you that on this journey things will not always look as you expect them to. If you trust your eyes only, you will be deceived. We will be with you always. We will hear you always. And We will speak to you in new ways. When your heart troubles you, remember The Golden Key.”
She clutched the key that hung around her neck and recited, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you great and unsearchable things.”
“Yes, child. Has the key not served you well so far?”
“Oh it has!”
“And it will continue to do so. Now as you go around that corner to begin your ascent, We will be out of your sight. But you will not be out of Ours. You must trust that We will indeed be with you. Are you ready?”
She took a deep breath, and determined to obey, she nodded meekly. They each embraced her one more time and she took her first steps around the stone mountain. As she turned the corner she smiled. Flat, hexagonal shaped stones formed a natural stairway up the mountain, and she knew that this was something she could do. She should have known, indeed, that They would provide a way for her. As she looked up to the top of the lofty mountain, and could hear the waves crashing behind her, the clouds rumbled deeply and her eyes were lifted even higher to the heavens. Somehow within that rumble she heard the deep majestic voice of The King: “I am with you.” Contentment enveloped her and smiling, she took her first step. As she did she noticed that on one of the steps before her, there was writing etched across the stone. “My God will certainly hear me.” She sighed and smiled, for she knew it was true. As if in answer to her question, the dove that had been cradled in The King’s arms was suddenly soaring above her, circling and then lighting on a stone a few steps ahead of her. He was with her, and He heard her. She climbed a bit more and a few steps further she saw more words. ““The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The LORD thunders above the mighty sea. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.” And now she could see that every few steps, more words awaited her.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
As she read each stepping stone, she thought she could almost hear The Son’s voice reading them to her while the beautiful dove soared on the wind about her. She was sure He was speaking to her through these words.
“My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me.”
“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me: and where I am, there My servant will be also.” She longed to follow The Son and to be with and serve Him always.
Each step she took gave her more courage, for she knew They were with her, and had laid this path especially for her.
“Be sure to pay atte
ntion to what you hear. To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But to those who are not listening, even what they think they have will be taken away from them.”
And now the path became steeper and it was a more difficult climb, but still she would catch sight of the dove every now and then and know that she was not alone.
“Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Only do as I say and all will be well.”
The path split and she found herself unsure which way to go. She only knew that she felt an urge to hurry on through and not struggle with a decision. She so wanted to be obedient to Him, and for some reason she felt a gentle pull to the path on the right. She took a step to the right, searching, searching for a clue to confirm that this was indeed the way. Only a few steps further she saw another engraved stone and felt relief for she knew she was on the right path.
“I will hurry without lingering, to obey your commands.” She smiled as she read these words and breathed a quiet ‘thank you.’
“If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine.”
She thought of everything she had learned so far from her Companion, and was sorry that she had grieved Him so with her disobedience. He had comforted her, taught her, stayed with her, and she had repaid Him with distrust. He had been like a Physician binding up the bleeding wounds of her heart, and she had leaned heavily on His strength. He even spoke for her to The King when she was too frightened to do so. She was just a Servant Girl, and yet He was giving completely of Himself to be with her. She could not imagine taking another step without Him. He was her Friend. Her relationship with Him was teaching her much about Him, and about The King and The King’s Son. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath and a playful breeze danced around her, cooling and refreshing her. The wind seemed to whisper something to her and she understood it in her heart, but her mind couldn’t comprehend the joy until she looked a few steps and found the next stone:
“Be still, and know that I am God.” She smiled and inhaled deeply of the cool, fresh air swirling about her. “Speak, my Lord,” she said. And He did. He did not use words this time, but still filled her heart with peace and joy.
“I will meditate on all your work and muse on Your deeds,” the next stone said.
“I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways,” read the next.
“In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.”
And then, as she read the last stone, “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth,” she heard the still small voice of Her companion. She heard it not with her ears, but with her heart, “Well done, child, you are here.”
She looked up and saw that she had at last reached the top of the stone mountain, and there her Companion stood, smiling at her. In His arms he held the pure white dove that had circled around her on her ascent. “Here child…for you.”
“This dove has been with me as I climbed,” she said as she took the bird in her hand. It cooed softly as she stroked its soft feathers.
“Release it, little one, and see where she will go.”
The Servant Girl flattened her palms and released the bird. The bird soared up and circled above them, then dove downward towards the sandy beach. As her eyes followed the soaring bird she saw that it was headed home, to the arms of The King. The King received it with a smile, then turned and waved to her. She gleefully waved back. “The prayers that you send to The King are His to begin with. I deliver them to you, and you send them back to Him. And He welcomes them with open arms.” He smiled. “And now, do you remember what the last door said?”
“And whatever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
“Yes, child. Remain in obedience, and you may ask and receive whatever you wish from Us, because you do those things that are pleasing to The King and His Son. Obedience is crucial, little one.”
He took her hand and led her to a patch of spices where he pointed out that which she was to pick. She happily put the sprig in her pouch, and waited…for His next command.
Questions for Reflection
What do you think of the Servant Girl's response to the King's command?
What do you think of His response to her?
What advice does her Companion give her?
Have you ever failed to follow that advice in your own walk with the Holy Spirit?
What is the kind of prayer that requires specific conditions?
Are your prayers harmonious with God's wishes?
What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit?
What do you think her Companion meant when He said, "Obedience ends where questioning begins?"
What does the Servant Girl beg of her Companion?
Have there been times in your life when it would have been better not to trust your eyes?
Has there ever been a time when you wondered whether or not God really heard your prayers?
Could you be content just knowing that God hears you?
How would you describe God's majestic voice?
How would you describe the voice of your Shepherd?
How would you describe the "still, small voice" of the Holy Spirit?
How are our prayers like the dove in the story?
What part does obedience play in our prayers?