Listening to the Voice of Godಮಾದರಿ

Day 4 – LISTENING TO AND OBEYING GOD’S STANDARDS

Everything that you think you have heard from God must obey the following standards: it’s biblical, it’s just and constructive, and brings you joy in the Holy Spirit.

REFLECTIONS :

Read John 3:29; Numbers 23:19; 1 Corinthians 10:23; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; Romans 14:17 and take a moment to answer the following questions:

➤ What is the supreme reference to know if what we have heard really has come from God?

➤ When God speaks to us, what does it produce within us? 

CONTENT :

When we look to hear God’s voice the recurring question is always to know whether what we think we have heard has come from God or not. You have certainly already met Christians who regularly tell you, “God told me". Then, a little while later, it seems that God has told them the opposite. This means that at least one of these two statements didn’t come from God, maybe even both of them! We need to know that we all have filters in our life that sometimes prevent us from correctly understanding what God is telling us. We can be influenced by ourselves (feelings, emotions, desires, etc.), by other people, by circumstances, by the devil, or other occult powers. When we believe that God has spoken to us, the best way to confirm it is to put it into action by obeying what we have heard. Know that delayed obedience is already disobedience and it allows doubt to enter in. However, before all that, there are some important criteria that allow us to test what we have heard.

First of all, it needs to be biblical. Thus, God will never say anything that is contradictory to the teachings of His Word. For example, if somebody says that God has told them to divorce their unbelieving spouse so they can marry someone else, clearly it isn’t God who has spoken, but the person’s flesh. God is not a man that He will lie and He will never say anything that contradicts what He has already said in the Bible. And it isn’t just necessarily in reference to a specific verse, but the totality and the spirit of biblical teaching.

Not only that, what God speaks to us needs to be just and constructive. Just, which means that it agrees with His justice that is revealed in the values of the Kingdom of God that we find developed in Matthew chapters 5 to 7. God’s justice is in part in opposition to sin, but in another part to an accusation. So God will never speak to accuse or condemn, but on the contrary, He will speak to lift up and forgive. So if we are at fault, He will convict us of our sin to allow us to repent and to change direction. When God speaks, it will always be in accordance with the His Kingdom values, but it will also be constructive or, to use a biblical term, to edify us. God never speaks for no reason. When He speaks it is to edify our lives or the lives of those around us, or even for His Kingdom. He desires to see us grow and to be transformed from glory to glory for His Kingdom.

Finally, when God speaks to us, it always creates the joy of the Holy Spirit inside of us. This doesn’t mean that we will always be rejoicing or at ease with our emotions or feelings. In reality, often when God speaks to us, it provokes an uncomfortable feeling in our soul, or even pressure. That being said, in our spirit, the place where we are in communion with God, the Holy Spirit frees up His joy. It is up to us to determine what we want to give importance to. Here, it is not a question of peace, because often Christians will tell you that they don’t feel at peace with this or that, but what they want to say is that their soul is troubled by what God has put in their heart and I’d like to say that it is normal. Jesus was troubled in the Garden of Gethsemane before going to the cross, but in His spirit, there was the joy of obedience (cf. John 12:27). In the same way, Abraham couldn’t have been in peace when he went to sacrifice his son (cf. Genesis 22) and yet, that certainly didn’t prevent his spirit from rejoicing in doing what God had asked him to do.

An important thing to highlight is that sometimes God gives us directions that relate to the future so that we can prepare and pray for it. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to act immediately, urgently, for example, marriage, quitting your job, going on a mission, etc. If we are not attentive the enemy can try to make us believe that it is from God and we need to do it quickly so that the urgency of it prevents us from being wise and forces us to make choices that are not correct. When God speaks, we also need to know how to recognize His timing. 

Take the time to meditate on these different criteria in order to integrate them into your heart so that when God speaks to your heart you can evaluate what you have heard. God desires to speak to you and lead you in extraordinary and challenging projects.

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.