Have you ever questioned if God speaks to you? Or, if He did, that you could really hear His voice? You are not alone! I think most believers have struggled with this at one time or another, and maybe many times throughout their walk. Me included.
There are several reasons we might not be hearing God’s voice, but I want to discuss two of them over the next two weeks: not believing and not listening. I think these two things work in tandem to keep us from hearing Him.
Let’s tackle unbelief this week.
Unbelief can be characterized as a pattern of not trusting in the character and promises of God as revealed in His word and, therefore, depending on our own wisdom and strength. For example, not seeking God’s will because you are afraid of what He might ask of you; not believing the entire Bible is true; not believing that the ‘abundant life’ Jesus promises is for you; not being confident in your spiritual authority in Jesus Christ; not being confident that God will supply all your needs; believing that the promises are for other people but not you; believing God helps those who help themselves (NOT in the Bible!) I can say I have experienced all these doubts. And no wonder! In Genesis Chapter Three (ESV), the serpent (Satan) says to Eve, “Did God ACTUALLY say ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (emphasis mine). The enemy does anything to keep us away from our loving Heavenly Father. Causing us to doubt His word and goodness is a powerful enemy strategy. If we can’t take God at His word, then we can’t trust anything he says about us or to us.
The funny (sad) thing is, if we doubt God, then we are basically saying we believe the enemy. Hmm, that seems wrong on all levels! 2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV) says, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” We are called to a life of faith, not a life of ease or total understanding. Faith is like a muscle. It must be exercised to grow stronger. We use an example of a chair to demonstrate the difference between belief and faith (trust). I can believe something is true – this chair will hold me if I sit on it. But that belief is only proved true if I, by faith, sit down in it. Faith often is ‘worked out,’ grown, by action. It might not be a physical action, however. For instance, it may be a waiting without fear for God to work. But there is some sense of our belief being confirmed by faith.
Here are a few scriptures we need to believe, by faith, to tackle any unbelief about God speaking or us hearing him.
Jesus says believing and following him makes us his sheep. If you doubt you are one of His sheep, check out 1 John 5:12-13 (ESV): “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”
He also says his sheep hear his voice. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10: 27-31 (ESV)
So, if we are His sheep, then we hear His voice. We choose to believe this based on faith, which is important for hearing God’s voice. Hebrews 11:6 (ESV) says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
According to John 16:13 (ESV), it is the Holy Spirit that helps us hear. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
Based on these truths in scripture, we can silence any thoughts that bring up doubts by choosing to take Jesus at His word. The doubts are not from God, so why let them hang around? James 4:7 (ESV) says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Tell the doubts to leave in the name of Jesus! God has proved himself so many times in my life (and I bet in yours) that I am going to choose belief and seek Him to help any unbelief (see Mark 9:23-24)! He is just that good!
By reading and believing these verses with the Holy Spirit’s help, you have just heard God’s voice!!
Believe it and Rejoice!
Yorumlar