Hearing the voice of God

God wants to have a relationship with us. He tries to communicate with us, but there often can be

issues on our end that make it difficult for Him to get through.

At church recently, the pastor talked about listening to God's voice.

There are certain issues with hearing God's voice (Psalm 32:9, James 5:7, Psalm 37):

• The issue of going our own way
• The issue of trust
• The issue of obedience
• The issue of patience
• The issue of busyness

God speaks to us in several key ways (Psalm 119:105, Acts 16:7, 2 Peter 1:21, Proverbs 12:15):

• The Bible
• The Holy Spirit
• Prayer
• The church

 How do we know it is God speaking?

• Agrees with scripture
• Brings glory to God
• Brings a sense of peace
• Confirmed by mature Christians
• Brings unity
• Preserves sanity

Take the time to slow down and hear the voice of God. There are Bible verses on hearing God -- he does want to talk to you! Read some of the other posts from this blog; there are tons of examples of God speaking to people.

We need love

In his monthly letter, John Eldredge recently wrote about love. Why love? Because God told him to write about that topic:

Over the past several months -- months which for me have had their fill of middle-of-the-night-spiritual trials -- I have often asked God, 'What do I pray, Lord? What do I need?' And his answer has been, My love. That my Love would fill your heart, fill you and surround you. And my response has been along the lines of 'Really?' It seems like guidance would go a long ways right now, or breakthrough, or angelic help or how about power and glory?

God seems to feel that love is far more urgent, or necessary.

I found myself drawn to Ephesians 3:14-19. . .the last sentence grabbed me: 'That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.' Yes, that's what I want! I want to be filled with all the fullness of God!

May we all be filled with the fullness of God.

Come away with me

I, like many Americans, often go through my day obsessed with the to-do list. The sermon at church

last Sunday by one of the pastors had an important message:  rest and be still.

You see, the pastor went into work one day, planning to complete the to-do list. But her computer was moving very slowly -- how frustrating! How was she going to make any progress on her list?

Then she heard God:  "Come away with me."

"But Lord," she replied, "I have all of this stuff to do."

"What do you think about resting with me," He said.

So she packed up her stuff, went home, and rested. . .and it was wonderful.

God does want to restore and transform us. By giving us the gift of Sabbath, we get an opportunity to rest in God's presence. Check out Genesis 2:1-3, Exodus 20:9-10 and Matthew 11:28 in the Bible regarding the importance of rest.

Enjoy the gift of rest today. One book that the pastor highly recommended is "Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence" by Sarah Young.