Have you ever been walking in the woods with a friend and you hear a strange noise? You stop, become quiet and ask your friend, “Listen, did you hear that”? Or perhaps, you are around a young child, either yours, a grandchild, or a relative and they say a new word. You immediately point that out by saying, “Did you hear that?”
The Scriptures call us to do this in our walk with God. Do you hear God’s voice? Stop, be quiet, be attentive; seek to hear and to follow. Wait for the Holy Spirit to impress, convict, lead us in the right direction, to the right people, or rest in God’s presence and promises. Look at these verses:
For God alone, my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. Psalm 62:1,5
I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? Psalm 42:2
Be still, and know that I am God… Psalm 46:10
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in You I trust. Make me know the way I should go… Psalm 143:8
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27.
Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction. Jeremiah 17:23
Do we want a deeper relationship with God the Father and Jesus our brother? I do. For that to take place, I must set aside time with Him. I must stop to listen to His voice, earnestly seek His will, wait patiently for Him to speak and be obedient to what He shows me.
God does communicate through His Scriptures. He also uses other members of the body of Christ to counsel us. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit and impresses on us our sins, attitudes, and desires of which we need to repent. The Holy Spirit reveals my lack of desire to obey or my willingness to follow Him. God longs to communicate with us and He is speaking in wonderfully creative ways all over the world. He is bringing people to Himself and unifying His body.
What might be some barriers to hearing from God? A lack of expectancy, Satan’s lies, unforgiveness, not taking the time to listen, and surrender, are a few. God wants us to know Him, to obey Him, and to grow deeper in our love and enjoyment of Him.
Personally, I am relearning and rejoicing in the tremendous love God has for me. God loves me as much as He loves His own Son. He laughs over me, He weeps over me and He rejoices over me. I can bring God pleasure. What a thought!
Join me as we approach this Thanksgiving and Christmas season to strengthen and deepen relationships with our immediate family, with friends that love and accept us, and with our sovereign, Almighty, steadfast loving and gracious God. We will be the benefactors. As we do, we will give pleasure to God and others.
Did you hear that? Believe it!