LISTENING TO GOD’S VOICE

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God talks to us. The living God, creator of all the universe and the One who made man and woman, talks to us, tells us that He exists, that He is real, that He is One, and that we are His beloved creatures. He reassures us when we are uncertain, He guides us when we ask Him, He forgives us when we repent, and most of all, most assuredly blessed of all, He rewards us with eternal life if we believe Him.

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Hebrews 12:25a (NLT): “Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking.”

Hebrews 4:7 (ESV): “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

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PERHAPS THE BIGGEST FRUSTRATION for me as a relatively new Christian (less than 10 years) is longing  to hear God speak to me His will for my life … and wondering if I heard Him … or if I missed it.

What about you?

Are you listening for God’s voice in your life? 

He tells us to listen for Him. Sometimes he’ll speak in a whisper or a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12). 

Other times, God shouts at us! (Psalms 19:1-2; Rom. 1:19-20) 

Look at all creation, He’ll shout. The heavens declare My handiwork. The earth, My glory. Look at the complexity and variety of nature. Consider the marvel of the human body, all of its functionality. 

… and yet, most often, He’ll choose a personal touch to reach us individually.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING to God’s voice is borne out throughout both covenants of the biblical canon, totaling more than 400 times.

• From the Old Testament, in Jeremiah 51:36 (NKJV): “Therefore thus says the Lord.”

• From the New Testament, in Matthew 5:31,32 (NASB),Jesus as the God-Man speaks on His own authority in the Sermon on the Mount: “It was said, …but I say to you.”

• Paul, writing to the churches, declared that his authority to preach was a commission from the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 7:10 (NIV), he said: “To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord)” and in 1 Cor.  7:40 (NCV), he declares: “I also have God’s Spirit.”

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LISTENING TO GOD is the first step toward obeying Him, and obeying Him is of paramount importance to God.

Consider:

• From 1 Samuel 15:22 (NKJV): “So Samuel said, ‘Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.’”

• From Hebrews 12:25b (NET): “For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven?”

God tells us what He wants for us because He created us, knows our hearts, and knows the good things He has planned for us. (See Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”) 

He knows that if we disobey Him, we will suffer the consequences, and He wants us to avoid harm.

He has something better in mind for us … life. 

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b NASB)

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PRAYER

O LORD, our Heavenly Father, our Creator, our King and Master, You have set before us blessings and curses, that if we obey You, we will share in Your blessings, but if we disobey, we will incur judgment and God’s wrath. Lord, You did not create us to visit wrath upon us but blessing. Help us, Father God, to listen to You, to approach You on our knees, Lord, if only in our hearts, to be still, O Lord, and know that You are God, that there is no other God but You. In Jesus’ majestic and royal name we pray. AMEN