Do you long to hear God’s voice…directing your life…telling you what next step to take when you are just struggling to put one foot in front of the other?
Me too. Sometimes it seems as if God is far away and yet I know that is a lie that the enemy of my soul wants me to believe. Satan wants me to think that if God is far away I have no other choice but to listen to other voices telling me what to do, which way to go, or even what I am to think about this great God of the universe.
The truth is…because I am His child, God is always near.
But the world around me is so loud I sometimes miss His voice in my ear. We live in a world where everyone and everything is competing for our attention. The talk show divas, the podcast gurus, the marketing of a crazy amount of products by ‘influencers’, the endless pitches from political pundits, all hawking their wares and their views striving to gain a monopoly over our ears…over our hearts, creating confusion in our soul and pulling us away from the Voice of our heavenly Father, the Voice of Truth. Maybe not even intentionally, but the cacophony of the noise that ensues blocks out the whispers of God.
We have a tendency to make decisions based on what we know. What we know is determined by what we are reading, watching, and to whom or what we are listening…and that brings us back to the noise. If we are not listening to God first and foremost, then life can seem like an endless sea of voices. And that is just exhausting.
So what do we do? How do we begin to hear the voice of God in and over our noise filled lives?
ELIMINATE THE EXCESS
If we want to push beyond the noise to hear His voice, we might consider what is necessary and what can be eliminated. We need to simplify.
I could probably write an entire series of articles on the importance of simplifying our lives, but it’s already been done in multiple books, courses, articles, etc. Some of those things are a great resource, but the reality is that I, or those other simplicity gurus, can’t tell you what to eliminate because we don’t know where your excess lies. And what is too much for us may or may not be too much for you in any one area. Is it too many netflix marathons, an overabundance of talk shows, too many hours spent scrolling on your phone? Or maybe you have children involved in every sport in every season of the year? Or because of your love of beautiful things, you find yourself shopping on Amazon or your favorite retail site far too often.
Or maybe, you just look to an overabundance of resources to get your spiritual tank filled. Wait, can you do that? YES. You don’t really need to listen to four different podcasts, to read all the books, to follow all the social media of the latest and most popular Christian speaker, and have 450 versions of the Bible on your shelves.
I’m not saying cut it all out. There is value in being encouraged by, and even being taught by your brother’s and sister’s in Christ. And books can be wonderful resources. But…are there too many voices? Are you listening to those voices before stopping to listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding you?
I can’t tell you what you need to cut out of your dailies…I can’t read your mind or observe how you live. Even if I could, I’m not sure I would have the wisdom to tell you definitively what is necessary, or what is not necessary for your life.
But God can. He will direct you the way you should go if you position yourself to hear His voice.
LEAN IN
If you expect to hear from God, you need to draw near to Him.
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8a
“But wait,” you might say, “didn’t you say that God is always near?” In this verse James is addressing Christians who were fighting with each other because they were listening to and living by the world’s wisdom, and they weren’t getting what they wanted. James was calling them back to repent and to move back closer to God. He was always there, but they weren’t paying attention. They weren’t leaning in to His counsel and His wisdom.
Our position is paramount. Are we leaning into God or are we leaning into the world?
If you are not familiar with the story of Hannah, you can go read it in the first three chapters of First Samuel. In a nutshell Hannah, who was childless, prayed for a son that she would then give back to God to serve Him all his life. God answered her prayer. Hannah dedicated her son Samuel to God and took him to serve God in the temple in the presence of Eli the priest. And scripture goes on to say that Samuel “grew up in the presence of the LORD.”
And then it happened. In a time when “the word of the LORD was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread” (1 Sam. 3:1), Samuel heard a voice calling him, “Samuel.” He ran to Eli because he thought it was the priest, Eli, calling out to him. But Eli said, “go back and lie down”. This happened three times and finally Eli realized that it was the LORD that was calling Samuel. So he told him to go back and lie down and if He calls again say, “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.”
You can read the rest of the story of God’s call on Samuel later, but for now I want to focus on one point here. Where was Samuel when that first whisper from God was heard?
“Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was” (1 Samuel 3:3).
So he was next to the ark…the symbol of God’s presence! He was lying down, humbly positioned in the presence of God (next to the ark of the covenant) and heard the voice of God calling to Him in a whisper. He didn’t jump up and begin to tell God all of his problems, and complain about living in the temple instead of living with his family. He obediently answered, “Speak, LORD, I’m listening and ready to serve you.”
Just because we don’t ‘feel’ His presence does not mean He is not there. When we position ourselves to hear from God, and we hear from Him we will then begin to ‘feel’ His presence.
WAIT ON HIM
I want to encourage you to take a few minutes each morning to sit with God. Quiet your heart. Invite Him into your day. Ask for wisdom in the decisions you make on how you spend your time. Make plans loosely and leave room for God’s input. Or better yet, surrender your ToDo list to God. Get into His Word. Wait on Him.
“Since the ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait on Him.” Isaiah 64:4
When you open His Word, ask Him to speak to your heart. Quiet your heart.
And LISTEN.
Can you hear?
Press in close or you will miss it
Push beyond the noise
Open your heart and listen... really listen
Slow down and quit rushing about in every direction
Quiet the clutter in your mind
Turn from the cacophony of voices demanding more of you
Turn off the TV...shut down the computer...turn off the music
Be still….just be
Can you hear it?
That still...small voice?
Lean in, closer still
Come close
He is whispering to you
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me…watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you will learn to live freely and lightly.”
~Jesus, Lover of your soul
~Matthew 11:28-30(The Message)
Blessings,
Comments