It's Easy to Hear God

Did you know that it's easy to hear God? I'll bet that surprised you since you might not think so. I've encouraged my home group to write down a few things they have been seeking God about but with the expectation and the proclamation that it's easy to hear God and that they will obey when they hear.

A few weeks ago I was praying at the altar at church and God showed me that He clearly speaks to me but that I then take what He says and kind of put it through a test, passing it back and forth between "yes, I think its God" and "no, I'm not sure." I then run it through some kind of spiritual counterfeit machine and then i wait to see how i feel about it! All so that I can be sure I'm "hearing God" and not the voice of my own soul or the voice of the enemy. You could say its me trying to be careful and it is but it really ends up being kind of an insult to God and my relationship with Him.

What if you did that with your closest friends? What if they said something to you and you said, "Be right back, I've got to figure out if its really you saying this. " For the most part we know what our closest friends would say in any given situation, so why don't we feel confident in trusting that we can hear God? Do we know Him that well? If not, His Word is calling to be read and known! "His sheep hear His Voice, the voice of another they will not hearken to!"

Are we trusting the part of us that is flesh and wants its own way more than the part of us that loves God and is born of His Spirit and wants to hear God, indeed lives on every word that God speaks?

What if our daily proclamation was "I easily hear and confidently obey what God speaks to me!" I dare you to try this. You see, what happens is that we get so bogged down into questioning the hearing that we do not end up doing much at all. You would soon find out that if the enemy of our soul knows that you are going to act on what God says then he will no longer be able to use this stalling tactic on you.

Do you think Jesus had a hard time knowing the will of God? He said, "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing" (John 5:19)... It was easy because it was his first and only priority! Any hindrance was pushed out of the way. He HAD to hear what His Father was saying.

Will you occasionally get it wrong because of your humanity? It is a possibility, but a self-correcting one. Isaiah writes, "If you go the wrong way—to the right or to the left—you will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the right way. ·You should go this way" (Isaiah 30:21). And the thing is one thing has changed to make it even easier since Isaiah's day: now that Voice is within you if you are a believer! Obviously, the voice of God never tells you to do anything contrary to the Word of God. God is not going to tell us to hurt someone, to hurt ourselves, to go against His commandments, to act against the nature of who God is, etc.

When we live to do the will of God, we will know very quickly when we have gone off the path because the Holy Spirit, in our spirit, will warn us. "Danger! Will Robinson, Danger!" God wants us to tighten up our ability to not only hear God but to obey Him in this hour. Please start to walk in the place where you expect to hear God easily "for as many are led by the Spirit of God are the sons and daughters of God" (Romans 8:14) and "all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory" (2 Corinthians 1:20).

God is speaking clearly today, have a listen! and then obey!

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P.S. I hear God saying that someone will read this and think they are so far away from hearing God. OK, so, no matter where you are at, how far away you feel from being able to hear God's voice, if you will ask Him, you will know the next simple step you must take. That is all you need. Take that step, and the next one will be given to you. Step by step, we can walk out of the darkness into light.

Nurturing Your Circle of Influence as Spiritual Parents and Grandparents

In our older years we can have much to give as spiritual parents or grandparents in the faith.  Perhaps we have a bit more time as we retire, or perhaps our priorities in using our time change.  The thing we can offer our circle of influence, especially those younger than us, is the wisdom learned from hard won lessons, but, more importantly, the loving presence that only comes with being able to nurture others with the same nurture that God has loved and nurtured you with.

There is a role of nurture and influence that no one can take from us in our older years if we remain faithful to God. There is a substantial dearth in the church for seasoned mothers and father in the faith who model the characteristics of Jesus. Or perhaps they are just a sleeping army! You can step forward and help fill that vacuum!  

Paul writes, "though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have you not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have become your father through the gospel" (1 Cor 4:15). Paul recognizes that many people can teach you things about Jesus, but not that many can protect, watch over, and make you feel the safety that a Father’s love gives.  We get that sense of how to father (and mother) from having been fathered by God throughout our lives. 

We know that people don’t just need truth, they need to feel our compassion, they need someone to bind up the scrapes, someone to cry with and run to when the way seems lost and hopeless.  They need a strong figure that they can watch when it feels like they are drowning: one that stands head and shoulders above the storm and are themselves, watching and being Fathered by God.  They need someone whose gives them the reassurance of a loving gaze when they feel lost or incapable. These love subtleties we simply do not have when we are younger.

 Do you remember Radar O’Reilly, the company clerk from MASH? He knew exactly what was needed by some kind of “intuitive” radar. That kind of radar takes awhile to grow in us.

So you can see how rare and how precious being a spiritual father and mother is.  This does not

come in our youth--it blossoms, if it is going to blossom, in later decades.  You can be an outstanding example, a brother, a sister, but you can not be a father or mother, even a grandparent in the faith, until at least a few grey hairs show!

Jesus said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.” (Luke 13:18,19).  Be a place that is safe enough for “birds” to decide that it is a wonderful place to raise their young! Be a place where people can come in out of the world and stand under your branches and be sheltered. Be like a tree, firmly planted, that stays in its place for decade upon decade, giving shade in the summer and steadfast beauty in all seasons.

I can remember being a very young believer who felt she knew virtually nothing about God. An older couple, who lived near me, who had been Christians for decades upon decades, would give me a ride to church. I was thrilled because I saw the value of being mentored by someone who had been a believer for a long while and hoped they would mentor me. Unfortunately, these dear people had not been taught and encouraged to do that and thus my young heart went without their nurture.  

So I am encouraging you, decades later, to be that person to the younger people God will bring to you. Notice people. Ask about them, Check in on them. Be a safe place for them. Listen to their fears, encourage their dreams. Bring soup to them when they are sick. Rejoice with them when they win!  Tell them, humbly,  how you pray but more importantly why you pray. Be real. Be transparent. Tell them that our Father in always there and will always be there and you know that for sure. Lots of people are falling through the cracks, lots of young people have absolutely no knowledge of God and no one to show them the way. Watch over the flock of God in such a way that others feel the Father’s love flowing through your bespectacled eyes, and your wrinkled hands.

God will love it. So will you.