Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Do You Know God's Voice?

A request to God and one of my goals for the past three or more years is to be more tuned in to God's voice...more able to hear him and be confident that it is Him.

This scares some people, and I get that. My personality is fear-based and I have worked hard to heal it--asking God to show me what anchors it, in all its myriad forms. I am much less fearful today, but it is true that not every thought we have comes from God. So awareness is good. 

However, I really believe God wants us to hear him, to actively listen for His voice, to have conversations with Him.

Today I saw this from New Hope Church's newsletter...
I Samuel 3:8 says, “Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy.” God was speaking to Samuel but he thought it was the voice of Eli. He confused the voice of God and the voice of man. Maybe God is speaking to you, but you are attributing it to the wrong source.
I wonder how many times God has spoken but we have not recognized His voice? How many times have we dismissed a providence as a coincidence? How many times have God’s words gone in one ear and out the other?
What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but if I am only listening to my desires, I don't hear Him. If I don’t take time to get quiet before the Lord and listen to Him, I can only hear God’s voice at certain times. At other times I become deaf to Him because my attention is to other things— things I think I must do.
The Holy Spirit speaks in lots of different dialects. He knows every language including your unique language. He knows what to say and how to say it - and He is always speaking. The only question is this: do you recognize His voice? If you aren’t looking you won’t see it. If you aren’t listening you won’t hear it. But if you open your eyes and open your ears you will see and hear God everywhere!
I believe God wants to actively communicate with His children. And we are ALL His children whether we are seeking a relationship with Him or not. He is still seeking us.

That reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from "The Count of Monte Cristo": the priest is dying and gives his friend a map.
"God will guide you," says the priest. 
"But priest, I don't believe in God."
"Doesn't matter. He believes in you."
That scene has always thrilled me from the first time I saw it. I'm not sure why, but I just never get tired of it. Maybe it's because I really believe God desires us and loves us. I also believe that the quickest way to find your true self is to find Him and began a relationship with Him.

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