Isaiah 30:21 Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.
John 14:26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[a] who will never leave you.
Come on, Lord! Really? That’s a tough one. The words popped in my head the second I rolled over this morning, “voice of God”. How does one explain hearing the voice of God? I’m going to be the first to admit that I have never heard the audible voice of God, and I often doubt in my mind those that say they do. I mean I wish God would just holler at me sometimes, but instead, He politely uses that still small voice. So how does He speak to us? He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. It’s our handbook for life. You can find all the answers you need right there. He speaks to us through prayer. And He speaks to us through our thoughts. Wait, what? Yep, I said it. At least that’s how He speaks to me on a regular basis. I don’t mean I hear voices in my head. I don’t hear actual sentences or a manly or godly voice speaking, but rather it’s more like a feeling. I get an overwhelming feeling about something…relationships, work, finances, and pretty much every aspect of my life. As Christians, the Holy Spirit resides within us. He guides us and directs us if we will only stop long enough to hear. If you have an overwhelming thought to do something or say something or pray for someone or help someone, well then, that’s very likely God speaking to you. The problem we run into is we have to discern whether its God’s voice or our own. Is it in line with biblical principles, or is what I keep thinking about in line with the world? Ha! That’s a tough one.
How do we learn to recognize the voice of God? First, we have to get all of those other voices out of our head. Clear our minds and make room for Him. We can’t hear the Father over all of that other racket we have going on. Find a quiet place with no distractions and talk to God about anything and everything that is going on in your life. Let Him be involved in every aspect. We also have to get to know Him on a very personal level. He already knows us…everything about us…even the exact number of hairs on our head, but do we know Him? We have to make an effort to get to know the Father. We must study His word, and we have to talk to Him on a regular basis. Just as you recognize the voice of your spouse or children in the middle of a crowded room, you will recognize God tugging at your heart and guiding your way.
This morning, Paw Paw arrived at our house at 6 am because the men are loading yearlings up to sale. He cracked the front door open, and our goofy, Bear, started barking. Paw Paw closed the door quickly. He then cracked it again, and Bear barked louder. Finally, Jeff said, “speak to him, Daddy. He doesn’t know who you are ’til he hears your voice.” We think Bear has problems with his vision, maybe or maybe not, but he has problems nonetheless. He startles so easily, but when we speak, he calms right down. He needs to hear his master speak. Kind of sounds familiar, huh? We run through life crazy busy, worrying, and fretting, but when we finally stop long enough to hear our Master speak, we receive calm assurance that everything is gonna be okay. God is with us. He is ever present. If you aren’t hearing Him, maybe you need to work on your receiver because the transmitter never stops working! Be still and know!
Inspirations from the Funny Farm 