UnstuckSample

Tune In

One of the best stories from the Bible about hearing from God comes from the life of Elijah. After his amazing experience with God atop Mount Carmel, where Elijah faced off with all the prophets of the false god Baal and saw fire fall from heaven, he was so frightened by the queen who had threatened his life that he ran off into the wilderness. However, God met the wayward prophet even here and set up an experience that tells us a lot about God’s voice.

In 1 Kings 19:11-12, we see God gives Elijah a command to stand on the mountain and proceeds to give him amazing signs of wind, earthquakes, and fire! We may think that if we received such a sign, we’d be all in for God! Although this is God’s sign for Elijah, our sign will probably not include wind, earthquakes, and fires. It will probably be God’s still small voice.

I think we can make hearing from God harder than it needs to be, acting as though only Clergy Man or Super Christians can hear Him. In fact, in John 10:27-28, God says His sheep listen to His voice. That’s us! We are His children. Additionally, we can almost miss the fact that it does take intentionality to tune in and listen if we want to hear the voice of God routinely.

The easiest thing in the world is to hear from God, and simultaneously, the hardest thing to do is to hear from God. You were born to do it; you’re His kid. But He’s not going to shout down all the other noises that want to fill your life, so as you’re learning to get unstuck, the best thing I can tell you is that you must learn to tune in and hear God’s still small voice.

God will not compete with our noise, and there are record amounts of noise in our world right now. We must listen!

If we want to communicate with God well enough to get unstuck, it’s vital to learn to discern God’s voice.

People sometimes ask me what God’s voice sounds like. First of all, remember, it’s not typically an audible voice. God spoke to Elijah in a still small voice, and I have found that most of the time, God prefers to whisper to our hearts. Jesus promises that His sheep will know His voice, and the voice of a stranger they will not follow. But here’s the critical part—when we hear His voice and know it, then we can activate it.

When God speaks, He will always stay consistent with the details and spirit of His Word. So when you begin to know the Bible, you begin to know God. It’s so important that we are not simply reading about Him but using His Word as a way of connecting with Him.

And God is a good Father. He isn’t waiting for us to slip up or for us to trip, so He can laugh at us and remind us of our need for Him. We see Jesus contrast Him with earthly fathers in Luke 11:11-13. His heart towards you is always good!

And when we do hear and discern God’s voice, we have to obey! Take time to read James 1:22-25. It talks about those who hear the Word but refuse to obey. Only hearing God’s Word won’t do us good—we must apply it in our lives!