God's Voice

Jesus said:

"No one can come to me unless the Father

who sent me draws him, 

and I will raise him up at the last day.

It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.'

Everyone who listens to the Father

and learns from him

comes to me."

 John 6:44-45

"My sheep listen to my voice;

I know them,

and they follow me."

John 10:27

A friend once said to me, "Too bad God doesn't communicate via text message.  Then at least I'd know exactly what He wanted me to do!"  We laughed because it is common to feel unsure about God's will in many areas of our lives.  

I want to follow God's lead, but many times I'm unsure of where He is located.  It's like I'm playing a game of "Marco Polo."  I call out "Marco" to Him, then I listen for Him to respond, "Polo," but I don't always hear anything.  I call out again. . . nothing.  I feel frustrated.  Where is He?

I know His voice because I heard Him when I first came to Christ.  He called me and I responded, but He was the one who called. He initiated.  I didn't ask Him, "Is this something You want me to do?"  I simply responded to His calling.

Maybe that's where I get mixed up.  I try to put the cart before the horse and ask God if He's calling me.  In reality, He is calling me but I am getting distracted by all that's going on around me.

How does God call me?

His Word

When I read, study and meditate on God's Word, I am not merely learning important truths.  I am taking God Himself into my being and letting Him change me, guide me and teach me.  

God uses scripture to call me to let go of harmful habits, attitudes and actions, and to take up godly ones instead.  He speaks through His Word.  If I merely study His Word and then go about my day without another thought as to what I read, I am doing what James taught about when he said, "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."  (James 1:23-24)

God's Word is meant to be dissected, analyzed and searched as I look for His message to me.    It is meant to be applied to my life; I should constantly be asking, "What is God saying to me here?"

God promised that I will find Him when I seek Him with all of my heart.  This applies to His Word, as well.  I must approach the Bible with a seeking heart. . . then I will find Him!

God calls me through the careful and intentional incorporation of His Word into my life.

Opportunity

Dozens of opportunities present themselves to me weekly.  Activities, missions, group studies, outreach, service, etc.  The list can go on and on.  But surely God does not mean for me to be involved in all of them!

Henry Blackaby and Claude King described it this way in their powerful study Experiencing God:  "If you keep your life God-centered, you will immediately put your life along side His activity.  When you see God at work around you, your heart will leap within you and say,'Thank you, Father, thank You for letting me be involved where You are.'

The key is to pay attention to God, not all the opportunities that constantly pop up.  Then, I will recognized His Hand at work around me and I can join in with confidence, knowing that it is where God wants me at that moment.  

The Apostle Paul teaches in Philippians 2:13 that, "It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."   God initiates!  He gives me, "the desire and the power to do what pleases him." (NLT)

God calls me when I pay attention to Him and what He is already doing around me.

Heart

We sing a powerful worship song called, "Hosanna" by Hillsong during corporate worship in our congregation.  While the entire song is moving, there is one line in particular that stands out like a beacon.  "Break my heart for what breaks yours."

I can't hear God's voice when I am only concerned about my own welfare.  Seeing things from God's perspective gives me a tender heart that breaks when I see suffering around me, and I am drawn to action.  But that kind of perspective is a supernatural work of God on my heart.  

David was considered to be a man after God's own heart but he fell away into sin for a time.  When he came back to the Lord, He asked God to, "create in me a clean heart, O God." (Psalm 51:10 NLT) 

It is easy for my heart to become corrupted by the beliefs of this world, hardened by the difficulties of life, and jaded by all the disappointments I have experienced.  But God can cleanse, soften and readjust my heart so that It is more closely aligned to His. 

Oswald Chambers points out that there is a difference between possessing the heart of God, and acting out of human compassion.  "Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by working along the line of natural human sympathy, because that will end in blaspheming the love of God."  

God calls me when my heart is intimately associated with His.

Hearing God's voice is not like playing a game of "Marco Polo."  Instead, it involves studying and applying His Word to every part of my life, focusing on Him and recognizing His work around me, and inclining my heart toward Him.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I will let God's Word infect every part of my life.

How do I act out of natural human sympathy instead of with the heart of God?

What can I do to help myself focus on God throughout the day?

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