Tag Archives: Hearing God’s voice

What do you hear?

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I have a problem. Okay, I have a lot of problems. One of them is listening to and hearing God’s voice, especially when I am frustrated or really interested in something. You too?

 

It seems there are so many other distracting ‘noises’ in my life that compete with my ability – or interest – in listening to what God has to say to me. It’s like the Tinnitus, constant ringing in my ears, that hinders me from attending to anything else. As I was lying in bed, hearing the ringing continue, I began to wonder…

 

How many of us have ‘Spiritual Tinnitus’?

 

Spiritual Tinnitus is not a recognized condition. In fact, I never heard the phrase until I typed it a few seconds ago. But Spiritual Tinnitus could be described as attuning our life to certain things so THAT is all we hear, making it difficult for us to attune to spiritual matters in our life. It could be getting revved up listening to opinionated radio talk show hosts or spirited Facebook debates. Or being so attuned to sports that any ‘sound’ of sports news quickly grabs your attention. Or maybe it’s the ‘sounds’ of beauty, health, diet, and cute things that prompt the brain’s antennae to ‘pop up’. Sometimes I’ll be attuning to something else and find the question I ask my wife was just answered – by her – a few minutes earlier! (Busted.)

 

I sometimes use ‘masking’ sounds to keep me from focusing on the distracting ringing in my ears. But what about our ability to attune to God’s voice? With so many competing ‘noises’ in our lives I wonder if we need a ‘masking device’ to tune out the distractions so we can hear His voice astoundingly grab our attention and speak to us throughout the entire day!

 

There’s (maybe) nothing wrong with having interests in different things. But when our passions so greatly consume us that we have little ability to tune in to God’s guiding and encouraging voice, isn’t that a problem? This might not seem like a big deal if you view God as an important ‘part’ of your life. This view allows us to delegate a certain ‘quality’ (not quantity) time to talking and/or listening to Him. But what if you’ve come to the conclusion that He IS your life and you say you want to dedicate your WHOLE life to Him? Then something has to give.

 

If this discussion ‘rings’ in your ears for a while, make mental note of the things that really grab your attention more than God’s voice throughout the day. Ask yourself, is listening to this ‘voice’ hindering me from hearing God’s own voice and pursuing His call on my life? If so, ‘mask’ it out so you can focus on what God has to say to you.

 

Don’t let Spiritual Tinnitus drown out God’s voice. Actively watch and listen for opportunities to see and hear God at work all around you. And go there with Him.

 

 

Hearing and listening to God’s voice

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“My sheep listen to my voice. They know me and they follow me.”
Jesus in John 10:27

Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to truly hear another person’s point of view when you are so focused on making your own case? You try so hard to not forget the point you want to make that you fail to focus on what they are saying. We may HEAR their voice but we aren’t LISTENING to it. To be honest, we must admit we are more concerned with what is on our mind than what they have to say.

Are you having trouble hearing God’s voice today? Likely it is because you are not listening closely. ‘Hearing’ God’s voice requires that we have a relationship with him that distinguishes what he says from other competing voices. How else will we know his voice unless we spend time with him and in his Word?

‘Listening’ to his voice as a sheep listens to its shepherd, requires the conviction that his voice brings us protection and offers us provision for what is good. Do you know that God’s voice will always offer you one or both of these gifts? If so, you will be highly motivated to listen closely to and follow his voice. If not, you will think it a chore and more easily seek another voice.

All good things: wisdom, freedom, patience, power, contentedness, love, grace, joy. . . All these good things come from intentionally listening to and following God’s voice throughout your day. Beyond all your efforts to do great things, be content with being a sheep that recognizes and follows its masters voice.

Who is in your path?

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I hope we all want to hear God’s voice. And He wants us to hear it too! He speaks through prayer, through His Word, and through circumstances. God also speaks to us through others. We have to be discerning if it is an eternal truth we seek because there are a lot of people in our path, representing a lot of contrary views, not all of which agree with what God has to say. Nonetheless, God will put people in our path for our benefit, sometimes to learn an eternal truth. Sometimes it is to learn a specialized skill, which could benefit us regardless of who is the teacher. I have made it a point in life to learn from people I disagree with! I genuinely feel sorry for people who can learn only from people who hold similar views.

God doesn’t always put people in our path just to teach us something. Sometimes He puts precious people there to share our load, to encourage us, to point the way, to show us a more helpful way of thinking, or to comfort us. (He also puts US in their path for the same reason!) When Jesus said, “You are the light of the world,” His message was one of letting our light shine so that His truth, love, and grace would be revealed.

We all need three people in our lives: a more mature “Paul” who can mentor us, a “Timothy” we can pour into, and a strong “Barnabas” who shares a walk similar to ours. Who is in your path in this season of your life?