A serious question in the lives of many believers is how to hear and understand the voice of God. Life's journey fills the world with many sounds, hustles, and bustles. It is often difficult for one to find time to pause and discern one’s journey and sense of direction. Thus, you find individuals living merely by luck, either based on their environment, heritage, or the culture they find themselves. Some people are naturally motivated due to the pressures at home or due to the genetics their parents transfer to them. Others are set up for success, continuing the family business as heirs to fortunes and wealth.
For people with that sense of drive and inherent support, discerning the voice of God for life might not be a burning issue because, after all, they have all it takes to be successful. It is assumed that those without support are those in need of the counsel of God. Suffice it to say that that assumption isn’t necessarily valid. In fact, those with a lot of options often find themselves at the crossroads in making life’s decisions. The myriad of opportunities, both good and evil, makes it easy for them to try many things, sometimes to their detriment. It is not hard to find a teenager in developed countries exposed to so many vices and made terrible decisions early on. Similarly, those from poor backgrounds often have to strive, and sometimes, they compromise to make ends meet. Thus, everyone, irrespective of their background and heritage, needs the voice of God in life’s decisions.
Multiple scriptures abound as to why everyone, born of a woman, needs the voice of God. Genesis tells us that we are created in God’s image and likeness, and from the first man, Adam, God came down to commune with him. The voice of God was a compass to navigate through life. After creation, God saw everything he made, which was good, and rested. The words of God made creation. Thus, for man to continually experience goodness, man needs the voice of God. Replete through the Old Testament are stories of patriarchs of faith who listened to the voice of the Lord for life’s decisions. Abraham left his parent’s place, moving solely on the voice of God. Even though he did not know where he was going, he used the voice of God as a map. Similarly, Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt through the instrumentality of the voice of God. God’s voice was the direction they had to take.
Proverbs 16:9 (KJV) says, “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps”. Jeremiah 10:23 supports that with, “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” These scriptures show us the importance of divine direction in life. However, the fact that God directs a man does not mean that the road will be easy. The devil would try his hardest to fight the individual whose steps are led by the Lord. Notwithstanding, we have the promises of the Lord for us in Psalms 105:14,15 (KJV), “He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” We are promised God’s continued guidance as we follow his ways, precepts, plans, and purpose for our lives. How, then, one may ask, can we get God’s voice?
The life of Jesus provides some perspective on this critical issue. In Luke 4:17, 18, “And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised…” The action words in verse 17 tell us that a book was delivered unto Jesus, and then he opened the book, and finally, Jesus found the place. The son of God received the scriptures, opened it, and found what was written of him. Psalms 40:7 says, “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”
First, we must understand and be convinced that our trajectory in life is written down in the word of God. The word of God is eternal and does not fail. Prophecies, visions, and statements by others might fail, but God’s word never fails. We, therefore, need to be anchored on the word that cannot fail and does not fail, which is the word of God. With that ready heart, we next shut down distractions and other thoughts to allow God’s word to flow unhindered. Jesus was in the synagogue, a place that was devoid of the distractions of the Jews and the silence of the world. In that state, he sought the place and found what was written of him. The book of Isaiah has 66 chapters, and the Psalms also has 150 chapters, yet the prophecies concerning Jesus’s earthly ministry and life were hidden in select verses in those scriptures. Our Lord ministered precisely for three and a half years because he understood what was written.
We often need to find that one verse that is written concerning us. In following that verse, other aspects of the scriptures begin to open to us. John the Baptist came as a burning and shining light and knew what was written of him to fulfill, and his life was spent in direct fulfillment of God’s counsel. The easiest way of hearing God is through his word. Once your heart is opened, he reveals himself to you. That word becomes the gate to receiving and harnessing all the precious promises that the Lord has made available for you. Beloved, let your heart be opened unto the Lord. Seek, and you shall find. When you open the scriptures, always have that mindset that you are seeking what was written of you. Once you find that line, phrase, verse, or instructions, it makes everything new and easy. May God perfect all that concerns you in Jesus' name.
ACTION POINT
Sincerely search the scriptures with an open heart. If you do, God's word will be your anchor, you can easily navigate different circumstances and challenges and improve massively in life and destiny.
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