You Can Hear God's Voice
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." NKJV
Most people who seek God are hungry to hear His voice clearly.
Sometimes people will feel frustrated and say, "I don't feel like I hear Him very much at all." They may feel wistful as they see others who seem so connected to God.
How can we hear Him better and what does it mean to "hear His voice?"
Not too long ago, my husband and I visited another church in our city. As we arrived at the church, it was pouring rain.
We had visited once before and didn't feel right about parking in the guest spaces near the front door, although that would have been lovely and kept us much drier.
We drove down into the parking lot behind the church.
My husband shut off the car and I turned to get out. Immediately, on my side of the car, was a young man who introduced himself as Sam. He was holding an umbrella to protect me as I got out.
I happened to have an umbrella as did my husband, but we were stunned by the kindness. Sam didn’t mind that he had walked all the way down for us when we already could protect ourselves from the rain. He just said, "I hope you will truly enjoy the service."
When we walked in, people warmly greeted us, going out of their way to come over to say hello and, "if you need anything, let me help!"
One of the pastors spoke that morning about positioning ourselves to receive all of God's blessings. She said, "You won't be able to do that unless you listen to what He says about you." And then she quoted NKJV:
"'For I know the thoughts I think toward you,' says the Lord, 'thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.'"
She paused in the middle of the scripture and said, "Do you hear Him speaking to you?"
He says, "I know the thoughts I have towards you."
"Stay on that for a moment! He has thoughts towards you, and they are good ones. Sometimes we forget He is speaking to us through His Word, and because of that, we panic and try to fix things ourselves. But He is speaking, and He says He has good thoughts towards us, to give us a future and a hope. To give them to us."
I was reminded through Sam's kindness and the pastor's message of two of the many ways God is always speaking to us – through people's kindness and through His Word. That same morning, I "heard" God saying many things through the worship songs we sang. Some of the lines of the songs stood out as if in bold print. As the pastor spoke, thoughts came to me shaped by God. His voice joined my thoughts.
He is always speaking whether through worship songs, scripture, through kind actions of others, or even through their words.
I remember arriving at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina several years ago, coming in with a group in one car. As we arrived at the gate, the gate attendant bent over, leaned in, and greeted us through the driver's window saying, "So glad you all are here. We've been waiting for you." I remember tears filling my eyes. It was God's voice through this man, so welcoming, so kind. "We've been waiting for you."
God is always speaking in so many ways. We do hear Him, more than we realize!
Copyright © 2019 Dr. Pam Morrison, used with permission.
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