Whose Voice Are You Following?

By Mirely Maldonado

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock”—Matthew 7:24 (NKJV)

“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”—Psalm 119:11 (NKJV)

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”—John 10:27 (NKJV)

No matter how smart we are or think we are, there are always moments when we’re faced with decisions we didn’t expect to have to make and/or that we feel completely unprepared for. Maybe all options sound good, or maybe all options sound awful, and it’s so hard to decide, or maybe it’s a decision on a matter we know little to nothing about. Where do we go for guidance? Social media? Google? ChatGPT?

To make good decisions, we need wisdom. The Bible has a lot to say about the source of true wisdom. Here are just a few of the many verses:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”—James 1:5 (NKJV)

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”—James 3:17 (NKJV)

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”—Ephesians 5:15–17 (ESV)

How do we hear from God? The Bible—His Word. You get to know Him by spending time with Him and reading what He says about all subject matters. When you’re walking with Him and reading His Word, His Holy Spirit guides you in understanding. It’s a relationship, so day by day, you get to learn more of His character, His attributes (characteristics that help us understand who He truly is), and His holiness and perfection.

God didn’t design us and create us to put us here without guidance. He wants to lead in the way we should go (Psalm 32:8), and He doesn’t force things on us. We make choices, and those choices have consequences. Those who want to be led by Him get to know His voice and follow Him. We can ask Him to help us remember His words or hide them in our hearts so that we might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11). Once we realize He knows us better than we know ourselves, we also learn that He’s in the big and small details in our lives. We learn that “God is not a man, that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19 NKJV), and “we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 HCSB). This makes it easier to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV) because our faith gets stronger as we know that we know that our creator God is the one perfect Father that only wants the best for us.

The “influencers” in social media didn’t create you, Google didn’t create you, artificial intelligence didn’t create you, nor do they have your best interest in mind when you seek answers. So, “let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV). Let’s go straight to THE SOURCE!

Pause: Pick a book of the Bible to study if you aren’t doing so already. The Book of Proverbs is popularly known as the book of wisdom in the Bible—you could start here.

Practice: Pray and ask God to help you pick a time of the day to study every day and for focus while you study. If you read Proverbs, you could read one chapter a day and have a whole month to build this habit (it has 31 chapters)!

Pray: Father, in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ; I come to You because I want to get to know You more. I want to know that I know that You are who You say You are and that I can trust You and Your guidance above all else. Help me and guide me through Your Spirit. Amen.