Everyday we are faced with never ending series of
choices and decisions. Many are small but some are life changing and irreversible,
affecting all those around us.
Where should I live? What career should I take? Who
should I marry? What investments should I put my life savings into? Which
church should I be planted in? Should I wait in this season where God has me or
go and follow my dreams and take on the world myself?
All of these are good questions which have different
answers for all of us. The bible is silent on many things and life is a very
personal journey that only we can take. Making sure we choose correctly the
paths we take and being in the center of God’s will is everything as
Christians.
Have you ever day dreamed about going back in time and
speaking to yourself about a key moment and what you would have said? Well we serve
a God who lives outside of time and sees everything in front of us and our
future. Wouldn’t it then be wise and beneficial to hear from Him and to know
what good plans He has for us? When God says “No” to our prayers, even they are
good because they are not His complete BEST for us who sees everything that we
can not see.
John
10:27
My sheep
hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.
Jeremiah
33:3
Call to
me and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you
have not known.
Throughout our lifetime we will face hundreds of
seasons of change, transition, highs and lows. But we don’t have to live this
life blind and in fear of what to do with our lives. We have the Holy Spirit
who is our guide, our helper and companion. God wants to speak to all of us
everyday be in relationship which is what Jesus came to accomplish on the
Cross.
When you pick up the phone and you hear a person’s
voice, you know who it is because you recognise the voice and have had
relationship and experience with them. You know what they love and what they
hate and can relate to them. Even though you can not see them physically on the
phone, you know that they are there and you can have conversation with them.
This is just the same with God! Just because you can’t
see Him doesn’t mean you can not have relationship and conversation with Him. When
we remain in Christ and His words remain in us, we are promised that we can ask
whatever we desire and it will be done (John 15:7).
At times hearing from God is a very clear prompting
that is unmistakable. Other times it is a still small voice like a whisper
that needs us to be quiet and attentive to hear it. We need to be alert and
ready to hear from Him at all times and most importantly ready to obey.
How many times have you made terrible choices in life
that God was speaking to you but you didn’t listen? Often when we fail to
listen or believe we know best and trust in our own understanding can be the
start of our own ruin. The truth is we don’t know everything and without the
grace and mercy of God in our lives, we have nothing.
John
16:33
When the
Spirit of truth comes He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not
speak on His own authority but whatever He hears He will speak, and will
declare to you the things that are to come.
Romans
8:14
For all
who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
There are some voices we can hear that may not be God’s
which are important to differentiate. The voice of our own sinful nature
desires, the voice of ungodly people and the voice of the devil. Scripture, godly
wisdom, accountability with good counsel and the peace of God are good filters
to know if we are listening to the right voices or not. A combination of two or
more of these is even better.
Every Christian will have hundreds of seasons in their
lifetime of mountains and valleys. Coming boldly to God is not just a one off
event... but a lifetime requirement! As the world is changing more and more, we
need to be in tune with Gods voice more than ever. If not for you then for those
around that you love.
Hearing from God is essential to our journey and knowing
what decisions to make and what to avoid. Imagine making a key decision at work
based on a word from God which in the natural made no sense but later became
profitable and critical. Or meeting someone that was essential to your destiny
and purpose in life because God told you to approach them and start a
conversation?
I once heard a testimony where a pastor had a number
of expensive shares in the stock market. He went to his accountant and said he
wanted to sell them that day. The man said he was crazy and being an expert in
the market he knew that they were on the rise. But following the voice of God
the pastor said “No, I want them sold today”, and stormed out. That week the
shares he owned dropped to almost nothing without warning in a mini recession, and
he saved himself thousands of dollars.
God speaks to us through a very clear prompting in our
conscience and heart. It is an impression or word of knowledge that only you
know did not come from you but Someone greater.
No matter what problem you have God has an answer. Everything
God does and doesn’t do for you is for your good! We need to be led by the Holy
Spirit as children of God. To know His voice and obedient to His ways is what
separates us from the rest of the world.
Hearing from God can happen at any time, any day and
any circumstance. Being available for God means we are ready vessels that He
can use for great purposes with eternal outcomes!
Hebrews 4:16
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of
grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favour), that we may receive mercy [for
our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate
help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].
