Hearing from God

I often hear people talk about hearing from God on a specific issue and I always wondered if it was like hearing an audible voice (1 Sam 3) or a voice in your head or seeing a vision (Acts 10:9-16). I believe God can speak to us in any way He chooses, but I don’t often have those kind of experiences. In fact, I’ve have one such experience that I can remember. But I know I have a relationship with the Father and I know He moves on my behalf regularly. Because I have faith in Jesus and believe God, just like Abraham, it is accounted to me as righteousness (Rom 4:3). I have been made the righteousness of God because Jesus is righteous, not by anything I have done myself.

As I seek to hear more from God, I realize I have to spend more time with Him. The fact is He may be speaking and I can’t hear Him because of all the noise around me and because I can’t distinguish His voice from the others (John 10:27-28). One way to know it is Him speaking is to know what He sounds like. He is a good God but He is Holy and He doesn’t condone sin.

If a voice is encouraging you to do anything that is out of God’s character, it’s not Him. If a voice is suggesting you do something that is opposite God’s word, it’s not Him. He is the same God yesterday, today and tomorrow (Heb 13:8). If we seek Him, we will find Him (Jer 29:13). Although societal norms may change, He does not. Although society accepts things that are contrary to God’s word, He has not changed. He is the same and He will hold us all accountable to what He has already said.

So if you want to hear from God, the first place to go is into His word. Every answer we need can be found there. It might not be the answer we want to hear, but it will be the right one. Our next stop should be quiet time with Him – praying and just being quiet. Ever been in a conversation with someone and they won’t stop talking long enough for you to get a word in?  If we’re praying and not giving God time to speak to us, why would we expect to hear from Him?

God will not force Himself on us. He allows us to invite Him into our lives and situations (2 Cor 9:15). But more than that, He wants to have a relationship with us that is not dependent on wanting Him to do something. He wants us to want Him. Does that blow your mind? It does mine. God wants me with all my mistakes and frailties. He is the seeker of broken and lost things. Luke 15 explores all the ways one can be lost and how much God loves us and seeks to save us. Let’s lean in and listen for His voice so we will be blessed and can move when He calls us.

A Leader! Are you one?

A leader is defined by one dictionary as the person who convinces other people to follow. According to one definition I read, a great leader inspires confidence in other people and moves them to action. They make sure those they serve have the tools and skills to get a desired outcome (Matt 20:26). They are good communicators and able to share a vision in a way to gain buy in from those around them. 

Many people consider themselves leaders because they are a boss. But a leader is so much more than that. In fact, a leader doesn’t have to be in charge at all. Leadership skills can be found in anyone and it’s all about how they use the skills they have to influence those around them. People can be led into success or trouble (Prov 11:14). 

If you take a look at the great leaders of the past, e.g., Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, etc. (Heb 13:7), you see people who valued others ahead of themselves (Phil 2:3-4). They fought for people who couldn’t fight for themselves. They set an example to follow and made sacrifices for the greater good. They were humble and recognized God’s hand allowing Him to raise them in stature (Jam 4:10). 

Bad leaders are all in it for themselves. They look for ways they can be elevated and don’t care who they step on so they can be thought well of. They don’t care about those they serve, but they are still able to sell their agendas. People have to wary of any leader’s motives and intentions – that will color what they do and say. 

I mentioned a while ago, we have to be careful because people are always watching. Recently, I realized a good leader makes good decisions and acts appropriately even when they don’t know anyone is watching. A good leader does the right thing because it’s the right thing to do whether people are around to be impressed or not. Their decisions and actions line up with their values and they strive to make sure others are encouraged and lifted up. Good leaders recognize that to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48). 

Are you a leader? Good or bad? Are you showing them good or bad leadership qualities? What do you do when you think no one is watching? Do you consider others before yourself? These are all questions to answer if you’re looking to lead people. These are also things to consider for when you answer for where you’ve led people.

Do It Scared!

Has God called you to do something you don’t think you can do? Are there things in your life that are scary? Do you feel compelled to take a risk but are afraid to step out? I know the feeling. Anytime something is too big for me to handle on my own, I get a bit anxious about it. I can know that God is calling me to it, but because I may fill ill equipped or think I’m not ready, I second guess what God has told me. I may be the only one who has that experience. 

I know my biggest problem is wanting to know and be able to control the outcome. The longer I live the more I realize I control very little in this life. When we really sit back and think about how much we don’t control, we realize the need for the One who controls everything. While God may allow bad things to happen, He’s still working it out for my good (Rom 8:28) and He keeps me even in the valley of the shadow of death (Psa 23). This is why I depend on the Lord so much. I realize I can’t control the outcome, I can only do my part and the rest is left up to the Father. 

If God is calling you to something (and I do mean him and not you calling yourself to something), heed His voice. He doesn’t make mistakes. It may not look like what you imagine, but God is faithful. Think about Joseph the son of Jacob (Israel). When he dreamed of the sheaves of wheat and the stars (Gen 37), he never thought he would have to be enslaved and sent to prison in order for his brothers and his father to bow before him. But, God was already working the circumstances for the protection of the nation of Israel from starvation through Joseph. God used the tough times to cultivate Joseph’s character and prepare him for the purpose for which he was created. 

He will do the same for us. Sometimes stepping out in faith feels like you’re taking risks because we don’t know the outcome. But when you think about it, it’s no risk at all. If God calls you to something, He will be with you to make sure it is completed for His glory. The bottom line is that while we are not, the Lord is a sure thing. We can trust and not doubt Him. He will do what He said.

If you’re risk averse or afraid, don’t allow that to keep you from gaining the riches associated with obedience. It would be a shame to miss out on God’s blessing due to fear. Do it scared!

What is Your Focus?

For the last several months, we’ve studied the book of Acts and anyone who has read it knows it is centered on the Acts of the Apostles and the how the Holy Spirit worked in and through them. A central character or person in the book is the Apostle Paul who wrote a significant amount of the New Testament. As we follow Paul’s like through the book, we first encounter someone who is fully opposed to Jesus – His enemy – and persecutes the followers of Jesus, even unto death. He was not a man of grace or mercy and was proud of the role he played at the time. Then we see him encounter Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) and his life was totally changed. As a result, he became the mouthpiece of Jesus to the Gentiles and took several missionary journeys planting churches as he went. 

Everything Paul was before he was converted into a follower of Christ, God used in him to bring others to Christ. Paul was a new man with a myopic focus on pleasing God and pressing for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:13-14). This is significant to understand, because we, too, are new creatures when we are converted into Christ followers. Old things are passed away and all things are made new (2 Cor 5:17). 

Therefore, we must die to sin (Gal 5:24), after we are saved from God’s wrath through belief in Jesus, God’s son. Paul’s life teaches us that when we place our focus on what God has called us to do and be, while we may stumble and fall, we won’t stay there. If we are focused on what God has purposed for us, we can change the world around us. We have to be willing and obedient. It’s up to us to choose to focus on God or not. We have free will and we get to choose obedience or rebellion. 

The fact is that if we’re not obedient, we are rebellious. There is no middle ground or half credit – partial obedience is disobedience. Our future is up to us. Blessings or curses are in our choices and the more we focus on being obedient to God and His will (Deut 11:26-28), the more blessings we will receive from Him (Luke 11:28, Rom 2:6-8). God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow – He changes not. The more we, as Christ followers, study His word and hide it in our hearts, the less we’ll sin against Him (Psa 119:11).  We will recognize how very much we need Him and not just for what He can do for us, but because of who He is. Just as anyone or anything we spend time and focus on, we get to know them better and the better we know Jesus, the more we love and adore Him – the more we want to please Him. 

So where is your focus? Pleasing God? Pleasing yourself? If it’s the latter, I strongly encourage you to reconsider. If you’re focused mainly on pleasing yourself, you will never be content. Seek God first (Matt 6:33)! He won’t disappoint.