Hebrews 4:7b,  “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”

Hearing God’s voice has become quite a popular topic.  I have seen books and there are videos on how to hear God speaking to you. I am not talking about an audible voice booming through your house, I am talking about hearing from God about things you are encountering in your life.  

Now, before I tell you these stories please know that this is NOT how to hear from God.  These are more just to prove our desperation at times to get an answer and both of these are a bit humorous.  Have you ever tried “Bible Bingo”, now that is what we call ~ desperate measures. LOL  One of the first stories I ever heard Patsy Clairmont tell was when she got on an airplane with a friend and she was struggling with Agoraphobia which is the fear of leaving your house, or being in crowded places or places where escape would be difficult.  An AIRPLANE?  Anyway her friend pulled out her Bible and opened it up and pointed to a verse (Bible Bingo ~ your ‘Word’ of the day kind of thing) which Patsy thought was ridiculous,  but the verse she pointed to was Obadiah 1:4, “Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord. Patsy grabbed her Bible and said, “Give me that ~ that’s MINE!”  Soooooo one day when my children were all teenagers and I was a single Mom, my daughter Candace who has the same love for animals that I do asked me if she could get another dog, she already had two!  I said, “No, we don’t need any more animals.” So jokingly she grabbed my Bible that was sitting there and said, “Well, let’s just ask God!”  So she opened the Bible and pointed to the line in the verse in Daniel 3:29 which says, “their houses shall be made a dunghill…”  Hahahaha! So she decided to ask one more time and opened the Bible up and pointed to a verse that said, “I the Lord your God have spoken!”  While we can laugh over those that isn’t how we seek to hear from God!  I will say though, that God does have that kind of sense of humor!  So, is there some great mystery to hearing God speak?  NO!  Let me explain:

When you accept Jesus as your Savior He gives you His Spirit to live inside you and to guide you throughout your life so you can live a life that honors Him.  One of the ways He does that is by speaking to us.  Have you ever started to do something that you know you probably shouldn’t and you hear that voice inside you saying, “No, don’t go there, this is not a good idea.”?  Your “conscience” …. The Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart and that is how we grow, by learning to make the best choices by following His voice and leading.  I got saved at a very early age and I can remember even as a small child one day when my cousin Louise, who is like a sister to me was over and she said something to me and my witty little self came up with some cutting reply and instantly I heard in my heart, “How would you feel if someone said that to you?!  Go apologize!”  And of course, I responded with, “But did you hear what she said to me?” And that same voice said, “It doesn’t matter what she said, I will deal with her I am telling you to think before you speak about how what you are about to say would feel if you were the one on the receiving end of those words.”  Now, if I had ignored that voice and ignored that voice, every time it corrected me, how in tune would I be when I really wanted to hear from God?  People turn the volume down when God speaks and says something they don’t want to hear and then they wonder why He isn’t speaking to them and they feel as though they have never heard from Him.  We cannot pick and choose what we want to hear from Him.  I can guarantee that right now His message for most countries these days is NOT fluff!  That doesn’t mean that all of His speaking is for conviction but what it does mean is that if we choose to not be obedient when He is speaking that is the place to begin getting that part of our relationship with Him back.  Trust me, He is speaking, the problem is that most of the world has the volume turned off!  Yes, there are also times when you may be following closely to Him but you don’t feel as though you are hearing from Him and you need answers…Trust Him!  He is timely in all He does and He does not waste any words. Notice the verse above says, “If you will hear His voice…” He is speaking… take a moment and listen, no agenda for what He needs to talk to you about, just listen.

So if you want a deeper walk with Him, start by asking Him to convict you if there’s something you need to be convicted about.  Let me just say here too that conviction and being consumed with guilt over sins you have been forgiven of that you have walked away from are two different things.  If you are forgiven and are moving forward, leave the past in the past and follow Him.  Conviction points out sin in our lives that we may be overlooking and He uses it to help us grow to a new level in our walk with Him.  As you listen to His voice in areas He chooses to speak to you about then you will grow to recognize when He says, “Just look at that sunset…” or “This is what you need to do!”  Listen!  He is speaking!  He longs for a closer walk with you so He can guide you into all He created you to be!