Sorry this is a little later than usual, but better late than never.
Man, week 4 spoke to me and addressed one of my biggest weaknesses. Truth be told, I'm just not very good at listening TO God or FOR God. I think a lot of that stems from being a type A personality that likes being in control; coupled with the fact that I love to figure things out on my own.
Yesterday at church, Pastor Lee talked about Rehoboam and how he sought advice from other places instead of going to God first, and I can identify with that. I'll look in books, ask the wise advice of friends, and try to figure things out myself and then realize I haven't even asked what God would want me to do.
I loved The Contents of His Words on Page 65:
1. God's voice is consistent with the Bible.
2. God's voice might conflict with human wisdom.
3. God's voice will likely clash with our fleshly nature.
4. God's voice may challenge our faith.
5. God's voice will often require us to be courageous.
God, help me listen for your voice and act on it when I hear it. I need your help on this because this is not natural for me. I don't just want to talk to you, I want to hear from you.
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I think my biggest problem with listening to God is the same problem I have listening to people. Hearing is only half of listening. Listening is hearing, and DOING. If you're not responding in some meaningful way to what you have heard, you may as well have not heard. It's like when you tell your kids to take out the trash, and they don't move from in front of the TV, and you say "Didn't I tell you to take out the trash?" and they say, "I HEARD you. GOSH!" And yet neither they, nor the trash, have moved from their current location.
How many times do we do that with God? We get ourselves trained to hear His voice and we say, "Speak Lord, your servant is listening." Then He actually does speak, but instead of dropping what we're doing and acting on it right away, we day, "Thanks God, I'll make a note of that," and then go right on with what we had planned to do anyway. (to be continued)
My challenge this week (and in the weeks to come) is not just being obedient to what I hear, but being QUICKLY obedient. If God is taking the trouble to tell me something, it's probably very important that I act on that as quickly as possible. I need to break the habit once and for all of treating God like an ATM, inserting my prayers like a debit card and waiting for an immediate withdrawal. It doesn't work that way.
One thing that I am truly thankful for above all things is that I have actually gotten to a point where I have trained myself to hear God's voice, even if the responding thing still needs some work. It really makes me sad how many people don't hear it, or possibly hear it, but don't recognize it. Hearing from God changes everything, but so many people just don't want to change. I think of the Carroll's going to France, where my brother, Jeremy, is. They are going there for the very same reason that my brother went there--because it has become a Godless nation. Except Bill and Rachel are going there to do something about that; my brother went to specifically escape into that. It always amazes me how people who refuse to admit that God still speaks have no trouble at all deliberately training themselves to hear ANY other voice but His, whether it makes sense or not. My brother is coming home from France next month for a couple of weeks. We will be getting together for a family portrait for my parents' 40th anniversary. I need prayer from all of you to help me LISTEN to what God would have me say to him when I see him. I can't speak truth into his life without God speaking it to me first. This is where Contents #5 comes into play. I am going to have to be courageous with him. I can't be a wimp to save his feelings if I want to save his life and even his soul. He is bringing his boyfriend home from France with him, so it will be two against one. With God on my side though, the odds are still in my favor, but the immportant part I keep coming back to is that I need to ACT on what He tells me, regardless of how it makes anyone feel. Nothing is more important. Please pray for me to have courage that week.
I didn't mean to go off on that tangent there--obviously that's been weighing on me. One more note about the study, regarding listening and obedience. I think that the proper posture before God would be to imagine ourselves as toddlers that are just to the age of being able to do some things by themselves, but not knowing if it's really Ok to do them yet. I am picturing my now-teenage boys when they were in diapers. They would always go to do something, but stop right before and look back over their shoulder for approval from Mom or Dad--is it REALLY OK for me to get this cookie, climb this shelf, drink this bottle of Dimetapp? This is the attitude we should have with God for every decision we make. We should humble ouselves like 2-year-olds and look over our shoulders as if to say, "Abba, is it really OK for me to take/quit this job, date/marry this girl, buy this car? I thnk that if we form the habit of being still and waiting for the answer to those questions before acting, we will save ourselves a tremendous amount of trouble.
Hey all -- I've gotten a bit behind in this study so I'm still catching up, but I'm so grateful to be studying it with you all. I was talking to Michelle yesterday about this week on hearing God's voice (I'm still not done) and could not get a picture out of my mind. I was just at Centrifuge camp with the kids a couple of weeks ago and part of our morning routine was recreation. Everyone is seperated into groups so all the adults were together. I have to admit I only participated in it the first day, but maybe that was so I could identify with this week's lesson.
The challenge was to get a partner and blindfold one. All the blindfolded people were together with all the partners encircling them. Then, we could only whisper our partner's name and they had to find us. My partner was someone I knew very well and she was immediately able to discern my voice and find me. Others had partners they had never met before and had a lot of trouble finding each other.
The 2nd time around, I was blindfolded and everyone encircling us started screaming their partners' names plus other people's names. Again, our instructions were to find our partner. You had to really listen for your partner's voice and not just your name. In addition, other people would come right up to the blindfolded people and yell instructions to them to "sit down" or "go this way", etc. The moral of that story is that sometimes we get sidetracked from what our instructions are because we're listening to someone else's voice.
Anyway, I hope this all makes sense. I just couldn't escape the tie-in from what I was able to experience and what I was reading this week.
Forgive me folks for not commenting last week, I typed something out and abandoned it because I thought it was lame. Hopefully, I don't do the same with this weeks study.
I am doing two studies right now and they seemed to have collided this week. A couple of the guys from Cherry Hills (you know who you are) and I are reading a book by Tozer called the Pursuit of God. This week we read chapter 6 titled "The Speaking Voice" so I got a double dose of this message.
I must admit I have a difficult time deciphering God's voice when I'm asking for or about something in particular. Every time I've heard God speak to me (and I knew it was God) it was something very difficult for me to digest. I suppose that is how I know it is coming from God because there is no way I would have ever come up with that myself.
I enjoyed reading about The Characteristics of God's Voice on Day 3. They all seemed to be consistent with and affirmed my experiences in hearing God's voice.
1st that God's voice is familiar (I liked your comment Sue and I'm going to FUGE with you someday). I am growing and learning to hear God and it has only been in the past few years that I am truly getting to know my Shepherd's voice.
2nd that God's voice is personal, this is true in my experiences that he cares for us and is actively involved in our daily lives.
Number 3, God's voice is simple and clear. Boy this is true. In just a few short words God can make some very profound statements. It's like he gives us one sentence to chew on and see what we'll do with it. I am also learning, like Scott, that when it is instructions that I should act swiftly in obedience. Unfortunately, I am learning that this is very difficult because it usually goes against what I am inclined to do. However, what I do know is that even if I miss out on the benefit or blessing it's never too late to do God's will.
Finally number 4 is God's voice is loving. What I need to remind myself is though God's instructions are always challenging they come from a loving Father who has my best interest at heart. If he asks me to confess something that may be very awkward or challenging I can be certain that there is purpose behind it and it will ultimately benefit me somehow. As a father I know that my kids do not enjoy doing what I ask them to do but I have a much broader perspective than they do so I see how taking responsibility and developing certain disciplines can benefit them throughout the course of their lives. I am motivated by love and so is He.
See you next week.
Week four has been pretty amazing! I was traveling last week, out of the country for roughly eight days. I had a lot of down time on the trip and I used it for the purposes of really just sitting and listening to God. Hearing God’s voice is not something that comes easily to me. I believe the reason for this is my own fault. I choose so often to live only according to what my eyes can see and not according to what God says is really true. I choose the hustle and bustle of life rather than the quiet communion with my Father.
This has become more and more obvious to me in the past few weeks: I can live for myself and my desires, trusting only in the things I see with my eyes and acting only on that which satisfies my immediate needs. OR I can choose to live with a great desire to hear from God everyday. Not for my own good or gain, but simply because He is the creator of the universe and the sustainer of all things...simply because He is the first desire of my heart. Even though my mind is well aware of these choices and logically reasons that I should live according to the first plan, my inner desire and actions do not always conform. There is a small difference within me between even reading the bible as an obligation and self-help solution and reading it as a desire or spending time with God because He is my first love and spending time with him so He can solve my problems. Oh Lord, how I need You to help me get my mind off myself even when I practice spiritual disciplines...!!! I’m often grasping for any last bit of this world that I can hold on to while still wanting to follow completely after You... What’s the deal with that!?
The following really stuck out to me:
• “We must learn to look below the surface of what we can see and hear with our physical senses...and be wanting to receive whatever words of instruction God has for us...”
• Philippians 3:7-14 – Paul was ever pressing on yet freely admitted he had not attained the goal...
• 1Samuel 3. How cool is it to see a prophet learning how to hear from God?!?!
A Cool experience:
This past Saturday I was doing Day five of week four. I came to the first “exercise” where we were asked to listen and see if we sense Him saying anything to us. So I sat there for several minutes and felt like I couldn’t discern anything. I was kind of bummed out. I mean, I heard nothing but silence and all I kept thinking to myself is “what should I be listening for?”, and “am I missing something here?” The only thing that came to my mind at all in this five minute period of listening was, “Be still and know that I am God...” It wasn’t audible, the words just came to my mind like a thought comes to my mind out of nowhere. I had not read this verse recently. I didn’t even pay attention to this though. It was not enough... just a general bible reference, I mean, come on. I was hoping for something specific. I ended that little exercise thinking nothing of it and feeling like I had failed until I came to the next exercise which asked us to look up Psalm 46:10, Isaiah 26:4 and Psalm 37:7. I did not know what Psalm 46:10 said so I was casually flipping to it and when I came upon it, I have to admit, I was a little freaked out...
Lisa and I are hoping to hear from God on some big, life-change, issues that are coming up quickly. I am confident that God is going to speak to us concerning these choices and that right now He wants us not to get anxious about what the future holds but to rest in the fact that he is Sovereign. At this point, He wants us to pursue Him for who He is instead of pursuing Him for our benefit. We are pressing on to attain the goal...knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection!
QUESTION:
Can anyone describe a time when you were sure God spoke to you? What were you going through, how were you sure it was Him, what were the circumstances...?
Sue - that exercise is awesome. I think we should do that in church next week!!
Great questions Chuck! There have been very definite times in my life that I just KNEW I was hearing from God. I would say it's mostly been during big decisions or, most recently, during a severe low point. The big decisions were things I was truly bathing in prayer (taking this job here @ CH; buying my house; going to Centrifuge camp). I just knew I was hearing from Him because I felt huge peace and had many confirmations that I'd made the right choice.
The low point was really not too much different. I bathed the situation in prayer and was so moved by His unbelievable deliverance, generosity, comfort and peace. "Peace that surpasses all understanding." He provided a confidence in my standing that I didn't know I could have. Psalm 91 became my lifeline.
I continue to struggle with the everyday listening.
Chuck, there have been many times, but the one that sticks out in my mind the most was when my first wife and I split up. I knew I was going to be leaving the church I was in, but I was at a complete loss as to what to do or where to go next. One night after choir practice, after everyone else had left the church, I hit my knees behind the back pew and totally surrendered to God for the first time and said something like, "I don't know what I'm doing; please lead me." The next Sunday morning, I arrived early to get the music ready for Mass, and on the keyboard was a newspaper clipping for another church. To this day, I don't know how it got there, but I took it as God saying, "You want me to lead? OK, follow this." That was 6 years ago, and I've been following ever since.
Ok, how is it that this study is hitting every one of my hot button topics? It's awesome! This is seriously probably my very favorite topic right now to discuss, so excuse me if I get a little bit excited! (hee hee) I guess the reason I get so excited about this is because the Lord changed my life so dramatically 3 years ago, as I talked a bit about last week, through the pregnancy and birth of our third daughter Elena. During the pregnancy, though, He did something absolutely amazing. He started speaking to me....Alot! Like, everyday, very very frequently. Every time I would pray, sometimes casually, sometimes to say little things, sometimes more important things, but it was Alot. It was amazing and it happened seriously everyday for a period of about, I'd say 5 weeks to 3 months or so if I had to put a time frame on it. I had heard His voice before, but nothing like this. This was different. He was communicating with me regularly. Now, granted, I was pouring myself into Him like I never had in my life, because I had nothing but time on my hands. I had been put on bedrest and our pastor at the time gave me a copy of the bible on audio and suggested I pour myself into the word and really build my faith up. He felt I needed to strengthen my faith for what was coming (obviously the Lord guided him to instruct us in this). So I would spend sometimes up to 8 hours a day in the word and praying. I was worried about my baby. I had a cervix that didn't look like it was going to make it through an entire pregnancy. Every time I would go the Lord with this He would say to me in His clear voice, "Don't worry about the baby Candi, she's gonna be fine." So simple. So definate. Every time. "She'll be fine." "Don't worry about her." "Put your trust in Me." "Focus your concerns on Me, I'll take care of her." Every time the same message. I thought the Lord was saying He would take her to a full term pregnancy and she would be healthy and happy and fine. That is not what He meant. But, make no mistake. She is fine. She is perfect and heatlhy and happy. He is true to His promise and she is fine. He is so simple in His statement, and yet it is the most complex story, and it's too much to type here, so I'll have to tell you all in person someday, but that voice became so familiar and so regular and I needed it so much then. And then, when I had her, and I laid on an operating table dying, and they took Eddie out of the room, and I knew I'd never see him or my girls again, I began to panic. And then there it was again. My God. My Lord. My Father. He yelled at me. Loudly! Booming through the entire room. I would swear to you that all 50 doctors heard Him say, "HEY! Do you trust Me?" He had to get my attention cause I was freaking out. And He did. I said, "Yes, Lord, I trust you. He said, "Then quit worrying, you are going to be ok." So simple. But those words and that voice will resound in my head and my ears for eternity. And that moment changed my entire life forever. And I will spend the rest of my life doing everything in my power and in my everyday to serve Him. He let me hear Him when I needed Him. I don't hear him often now, but I know and trust that when and if I need to, I will.
Believe it or not I got ahead a week. I thought I was behind a day but lo and behold I'm ahead. :-) It is difficult to wait and listen to God. Things happen and I think "Is that from God" and get caught up in that and later realize it wasn't. I must not be listening closely or I'm in a hurry for an answer. I was canoeing this weekend in Missouri. I was looking at the beautiful scenery and amazed, as always, at the beauty God has created. I wish I had been alone to just sit and look at the trees, the river, and listen to nature and listen to God.
The concept of listening to God--hearing from God--has really been in the front of my mind lately as we continue to try and discover God's will and direction in relation to finding the right job. It has been a frustrating experience, to be honest. At times I've thought I knew exactly what God was saying, and at times, I have felt as though it's a big secret and the game is for me to try and guess. Like I said, it has been very frustrating. This study has helped me a great deal. In fact, I have written a piece on this very subject, using the material and verses from the study, to help me focus on how to be listening to God.
Yes, that’s how it’s often been with me too Keith. I feel like God is clearly leading me through a door and then it slams in my face and I get confused. I WILL say that it brings me back to Him and I just confess my confusion and say “what’s next?”. But often, I find discerning God’s voice difficult.
I will never forget when He spoke to me as clearly as Candi describes. A dear friend of Chapter 6 was dying of cancer and as a result, I was in a season of bible study and prayer like I had never been in before. As I was praying early one morning I felt like the Lord was asking me to go out into the city we were staying in, find a homeless person and feed him or her dinner. It wasn’t an audible voice but just a thought that came in to my mind from no where and would not leave. So later that day I went to one of my buddies in the group and told him about what I felt God was telling me to do. I said, “I know this sounds kind of weird but I just feel I have to go find someone on the streets and buy him dinner and I’d really rather have some company then go at this alone”. So my buddy followed me a bit reluctantly and we went out onto the streets of this city (I don’t remember exactly what city it was, but it was a major metropolitan area) and we began to look for someone that appeared to be homeless. This usually is not very hard to do but we could not find ANYONE. And I mean, I was looking hard. Down back alleys, street corners, garbage dumps. We circled complete city blocks. We went everywhere I could think to look, as I became more embarrassed with every passing minute thinking my buddy thought I was crazy. After about 10-15 minutes of trying to find someone with no success we gave up and decided to grab dinner at a local burger king. The place was empty when we showed up and as we ordered, in walked a very large group of guys in their late twenties... they looked like they just finished playing a game of pickup basketball or something. By the time we sat down the place was packed and just as I picked up my sandwich to take a bite, in walks an older man with crutches. His clothing was torn and tattered. He wore a stocking cap on his head with holes in it and his beard was mangled and dirty and down to his chest. He was missing one eye and you could smell him from my table as he staggered across the room muttering to himself. Everyone saw him come in the restaurant and you could tell that most were not too excited with the fact that he was there. My buddy just turned to me and raised his eye lids up and down as if to say “uhhh, I think this might be your guy...”
In that moment, God said to me, “Ok, will you obey me now, here, in front of all of these people? Will you put your pride aside, walk over to this man, sit down and talk to him and buy him dinner here in this crowded restaurant?” Long story short, we did go over and talk with him and buy him dinner. There were no miracles or flashing lights... it was just dinner and a conversation. But I was changed by that experience. God showed me clearly how much I care about my image, even in front of complete strangers in a Burger King, and how it was keeping me from doing what really mattered to Him. It’s also interesting to me that in all the stories I hear of God speaking to them, whether audibly or just very clearly, the story usually begins with a description of how this season in their life was a difficult one and they were spending more time with God in prayer or in the word. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
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