Connections1

Okay, we now know some of the ways God speaks
to us and how we hear Him. Let's now identify
how His voice sounds. When God is telling you
something His voice is:

Sometimes a still small voice that you feel
in the core of your being; within the deepest
part of your consciousness that tells you it
is God. His voice pricks your soul and stirs
you within. You can feel it.
Sometimes an Overwhelming Urging in
your soul that will not give you peace until
the voice is heeded.
Never in Conflict With His Written Word.
God's word is just, righteous, and true. His
voice to you will never conflict the character
of His Word. You may test His voice by His
Word.
Persistent. If you've heard His voice once,
but wasn't sure it was Him, be patient, His
voice will come again. Because He is
passionate about you His voice will
continue to come until you heed it or
decidedly reject it.
Clear. When we filter out the noise of the
world and the noise of our own desires,
God's voice is clear and direct. We must
be willing to yield our will to His and come
aside in quiet time with Him to seek in
quiet reverence His will for our lives.
Self-Confirming. Often times God will
confirm what He has said to you. It may be
in a song, in a book, or maybe in the
checkout line at the grocery store. Always
be on the lookout for His confirmation of
His word to you.

As I look back on my dilemma, I recognize the
mistakes I made. One of them, to say the least,
was that I'd made my logical decision based on
what I thought He expected of me. But in this
situation God wanted me to yield more to faith in
Him and less to the works that I could do. He was
trying to teach me greater faith in Him.

I don't know what situation you may be facing, nor
am I sure of the reason God has allowed your
circumstances to come your way. However, I am
sure that there's a lesson to be learned. He
always teaches us lessons that bring us closer to
Him. Whatever your situation, know that God has
the answer to your problem and that He's anxious
to lead you to what it is. If only we would listen in
quietness and align our will with His, we will hear
what He wants us to know.

Yes, God is still speaking to us today. If you can
recognize the sound of God's voice, you can know
His leading in your life. I challenge you to talk with
God and listen for Him everyday. Learn how He
speaks to you and in humble obedience heed His
voice. " And the peace of God which passes all
understanding shall guard your heart and mind
through Christ Jesus." [Phil 4:7] Amen.

"Lord I'm here because this is where You told me
to be." I frustratingly replied. "Did I?" He replied.
I was confused. Had I missed His voice all
along? I needed to be sure of what God was
saying on the matter. I needed to clearly hear His
voice.

This busy world of ours is filled with so many
voices: television, radio, Internet, experts on the
issues, best selling authors, friends, family
members and even co-workers. There are so
many voices ringing in our ears that it is easy to
miss the voice of God. When seeking to live the
life that God designed for us, it is imperative that
we listen to His voice alone. But to heed His
voice we must first know what His voice sounds
like.

How do we identify God's voice in our lives? First
lets briefly identify "how" He speaks to us. God
speaks to us:

Through His Word- Probably the most
well known and widely accepted way God
speaks to us is through His written Word-
The Bible. II Timothy says that "All
scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, and for instruction in
righteousness."
Through Visions and Dreams- God also
speaks to us through visions and
dreams. The Bible declares that "...your
old men shall dream dreams, your young
men shall see visions."
Through the World Around Us- God
speaks to us through nature, through the
events going on in the world around us
and through our life experiences.
Through Other People- God even speaks
to us through other people such as our
ministers, teachers, evangelists and
even friends.

There are various methods God may choose to
speak to us, what's important is that we recognize
that He's speaking regardless of the method He
may be using.

Now that we've identified "how He speaks" to us,
let's talk briefly about "how we hear" Him. Is
His voice audible? There is no doubt that God
can reveal His voice to us in audible tones. Is
anything to hard for God? The Bible gives
examples of what we generally accept as the
audible speaking of God to mankind. He spoke
to Moses at the burning bush and called the boy
Samuel in the middle of the night right? So God
can speak to us in an audible voice.

But most often, in our new millennial age we
hear God's voice speaking, not with our ears,
but in our hearts and consciousness (our
minds), also known as our spirit and soul.
Notwithstanding, sometimes we hear his voice in
our soul so strongly that it almost sound audible.

When you're waiting to hear from Him, how do you
know when you've heard His voice? Do you know
when your prayers have been answered? Are you
able to decipher between His voice and your own
pressing will?

All throughout the Bible we read passages of
those who heard the voice of God. It is filled with
scriptures that begin with, “ And the Lord said
unto…” Even now we hear testimonies of those
who have heard God's voice What do they hear
and how did they recognize it as the voice of
God? What does God's voice sound like?

This question is very pertinent to us today
because many of us are seeking God's voice. We
ask Him to show us His will, to give us direction
and to grant us solutions to our problems. But
we're often frustrated because we are not sure of
when we get His answer because we are not
sure of the sound of His voice. God still speaks
to us today just as He did in Bible days. In order
to live according to His will for our lives, we must
learn to discern His voice.

In the early part of this year, I struggled with this
very thing, discerning the voice of God. I made a
life decision based on what I thought His voice
instructed only to later find out that I'd missed His
voice completely.

At the start of the year life handed me a financial
crisis that I did not expect. There was no way
around it, I had to deal with the problem. I
basically had two choices at my disposal. I could
either grab the bull by the horns and handle it in
my own strength or I could wait in faith for God to
see me through. It was the classic battle
between faith and works. I struggled to discern
what would be my reasonable part and what
would be God's part in solving this problem.

"Well," I thought, "God would expect me to use my
capabilities to make things work out wouldn't
He? After all, faith without works is dead isn't it?"
So that's what I did. I whisked off with my God
given capabilities to tackle the problem head on.
Even though I prayed about the matter I made my
decision based on what I thought God expected
of me. But within weeks I found myself in a
situation of which I didn't belong.

The confusing part about my dilemma was that it
wasn't an altogether "bad" situation, it was just
that my soul wouldn't be at rest. In fact, as I stood
in the hallway in which this situation had placed
me, I heard a voice say, "What are you doing
here?" It was so loud in my spirit that it was
almost audible. Then I knew for certain that
something wasn't right, I'd made the wrong
decision.