Listening to the Voice of GodSample

Day 2 – DISCOVERING GOD’S WILL

God longs for us to discover His will so that we can live life to the full in the way that He has planned for us.

REFLECTIONS :

Read Genesis 22:1-12 and take a moment to respond to the following questions:

➤ In your view, how do you think Abraham was able to obey God’s request to sacrifice his own son? Develop your thoughts.

➤ How can we be sure of being able to trust and obey what we have heard from God?

CONTENT :

Living the life of a disciple of Christ is simply to walk in God’s will and His unique projects for us (cf. Ephesians 2:10). It is about an extraordinary and passionate life, well above everything that we could have imagined or dreamed about, even in the craziest of times. It is important to understand this so that we can correctly hear His voice. Because if, for example, we think that what God has planned for us is a life full of suffering and misery – unfortunately far too many people are still persuaded of this today - then we will never be able to believe, or even hear what He is going to tell us when He speaks to us about abundant life. We, therefore, need to have a revelation of His love for us, while also getting rid of all human vision of love. His love and His abundance for us are always in the perspective of eternity and this doesn’t in any way exclude challenges and difficulties. Another thing, if you have had to face up to rejection in your life, it is possible that you will have difficulty in believing that you are hearing God’s voice when He tells you that He loves you, that you are precious and that He will never leave you. God’s voice doesn’t lead us into easiness, but into joy and victory!

So it is important to recognize the personality and nature of God which is revealed in His voice. If he who speaks to me is full of love and truth, then I expect to hear words that are full of love and truth. If we take the example of Abraham, who God asked to offer up his only son as a sacrifice: do you think that Abraham would have easily obeyed if he hadn’t beforehand “tested” the voice of God and if he hadn’t previously experienced His goodness and faithfulness throughout the many previous years? Before hearing God ask him to sacrifice his son, Abraham knew above all the person who was asking him. Because of this, Abraham had the conviction that God wasn’t going to abandon him in this incomprehensible and apparently cruel situation. And effectively we see that God didn’t allow Isaac to be killed, but He took the opportunity to reveal Himself to Abraham in a new dimension. Obedience always leads to a revelation of who God is. It is because Abraham knew that God’s will is always good, agreeable, and perfect that he obeyed, and he wasn’t disappointed! Often, it happens that God asks us to do difficult things, that cost us and that we don’t understand. Obedience will always be rewarded with a blessing.

Hearing the voice of God isn’t looking for information: when God speaks to us there is always a goal and a reason for it, to push us into action. God created us in an absolutely extraordinary and unique way so that we can live the full life that He has planned for us. We are able to live this life according to the measure of how attentive we are to His voice and that we obey Him. This implies that we don’t only simply seek to hear God for the joy of being able to say that we can hear His voice but to do it with a heart attitude that is ready to obey Him in all that He will ask us to do. It means to come to Him, not to seek His blessing for our projects, but to come with this attitude: “Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening” (cf. 1 Samuel 3:10).

Why don’t you spend some time with God each morning to declare that His goodness and His love for you are renewed each day and to adopt this heart attitude that simply says, “Your will be done”? You will be amazed: He will open up your spiritual ears and you will hear His voice. All you have to do is to obey and live this extraordinary life that He has planned for you.

MY DECISION :

➤ What I have understood for my own personal life:

➤ What I am deciding to do in my life based upon what I have just learned: 

➤ What you decide to do today will determine who and what you will be tomorrow!

Adapted from "un disciple en marche" copyright 2018 by Luc Favre, published by Vie Victorieuse. All rights reserved.