All tagged voice
So often we think that there is but one way that men are called, and that God has a set process for leading us to Him. We somehow get in our minds that there is only one way to serve God, and that if we don’t fit into the biblical walk exhibited by one of the twelve apostles then we are not correct in our faith. In fact, we are all unique and so is our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
In Nashville we had a total eclipse of the sun in 2017, and although it took a while to reach its totality, or the period of time in which the moon totally covers the sun, the totality itself lasted for only two minutes or less. Quite often the period of time God shines His light of opportunity in our lives is short as well. If we miss the chance to see or to act upon the calling which God presents us, we may never experience that particular opportunity again.
Does God speak to you every day? If your answer is “no, not every day”, are you certain of that? It is my experience that God seldom shouts out loud at us; His voice is gentle and requires a certain stillness of spirit if we are to converse with Him. Make it a point to silence yourself and listen for what scripture calls his small still voice… if you quiet yourself in this way, and do not quench the spirit, then you will find that in the silence that surrounds you His whisper will become like a shout.
This morning I ask you to join me in contemplating those times when God has spoken to you. It may have been in a feeling you couldn't shake, a dream, in a voice only you could hear, by signs, or maybe in a vision. Is there a time when you realized that you were engaged in a "God Moment?"
How is it that we hear God speaking to us, and do we obey him when He does? Sometimes it is in a gentle breeze that guides us when we are still enough to perceive it, and at other times a low whisper that requires us to be silent, but we occasionally hear him in a loud clear voice. However we hear Him, we first, and always, must be listening. Sometimes He might get our attention with a storm, by violently shaking the earth, or with a raging fire but even then His voice will usually be gentle and low. Like Jesus did to Saul we might be knocked down, or blinded, but His voice, even when it comes in a more normal volume, will be clear and calm as He speaks, and as He directs us into a new life, just as Saul was as he became Paul. However, the real question in all of this is this… what do we do with what God tells us? Do we obey, or just wonder if that was really Him?
Do we listen for spiritual guidance in our everyday earthly walk, or do we believe that our journey through the world is separate from our walk of faith? Do we only hear God when we want help, and attempt to turn Him on and off like a spigot in other matters? Do we listen for His voice in the spiritual, but cover our ears otherwise? Before knowing God, and Jesus Christ we become accustomed to determining our own way, and walk or run as we like; this is the earthly way before we know the Lord. But, once we believe we are transformed, and our world ceases to be governed by our own decisions… we are ruled by He who created the world, and His Son Jesus who has conquered it. Are we prepared to live a righteous life? Are we prepared to face the consequences of continued sinning?
A common question concerning faith today is this: “Does God still speak to us?” It is asked by believers and non-believers alike, and although it sounds innocent enough, it can carry with it dark undertones. This question sows the seeds of doubt. For the believer it is a confession that they are unable to hear God’s voice, and if we are not careful, can justify an unwillingness to seek God’s voice. For the unbeliever It is either a sign they are seeking Him, or a means of undermining those who say they have heard God’s voice… as an argument meant to cast doubt, and a way of leading into a debate over whether God might have separated himself from us… or never existed at all. However, God does speak to us, and He does so in many ways such as in an audible voice, whispers, signs, dreams, visions, miracles, by leading us into improbable circumstances, and through His Holy Word.
When we hear the Lord speaking to us what does that sound like? What is it about His voice that convinces us that we are actually speaking with Him, and later, when He speaks again how is it that we recognize His voice as being the same? We read in scripture of God speaking, we imagine Him speaking before He talks to us the first time, and we know somehow that we will knowHim when he does, but how is that? Do I hear Him as you hear Him, as someone else hears Him? If He whispers, shouts, or speaks in a normal tone how do we recognize that it is the same person; is it just like how we know our earthly father’s voice? The voice of God… so mysterious… so indescribable, and yet so distinct and certain. How does our Father sound to us?
Whether in the Old Testament or the New, we are told to go out into the world and declare the glory of God, and of Jesus Christ. We are sent to the Gentiles, the heathens, and to every soul that walks the earth but doesn’t yet know Them. Are we doing this today? Are we speaking of faith to our families, searching our communities for the lost, our country for the wayward, and the world for those who have never heard of God, Jesus Christ, and their glory that is contained in the Bible, and the gospel story of Jesus? Are we walking in our homes, and abroad, exercising the power of the Holy Spirit in us to do as we have been commanded?