Hearing God's Voice

by Kelly

“Re-routing....take a left on S. Congress...re-routing...take a right in 180 ft….re-routing…”

The silky smooth unbothered voice coming from my car speakers was a shocking contrast to my annoyed and almost frantic disposition. What should have been a twenty minute commute from a doctor’s appointment, to my home on the west side of Austin, turned into an hour excursion through downtown during rush hour traffic. Complete with u-turns and roundabouts for days it seemed; not only was I late picking up my youngest from his mother’s day out program, but I was about to lose my ever-lovin’ mind if my phone rang one more time. How did I end up here in the first place? I wondered as I passed skyscrapers that, I knew, should only be seen from a very far distance.

Almost as soon as I asked myself that question...“ding, ding”...another notification from my phone sounded off. This time it was a text from a group text I was included in. Before that, it was a phone call from a friend (which I answered) that, unbeknownst to me, would result in the voice guide of my car GPS system to become inaudible. And yet while in the middle of that conversation, I switched over and took the 5th call of the hour from handyman *Frank who needed dimensions on a project I was having him complete. As much as I wished I hadn’t answered the phone in the first place, and as easy as it would have been to sound off my frustrations on poor Frank, I calmly catered to his demands while I simultaneously drove circles around the Austin skyline. After all, it was my fault for allowing myself to become distracted. I had tuned out the voice I so desperately needed to pay attention to and, instead, chose to listen to other voices. Voices that were competing for my time and attention therefore prohibiting my progress home and concurrently silencing the one voice that mattered.

The voice that was able to guide me home may have been my car’s GPS system, but did you know there is another voice that has the ability to guide us if we can be disciplined to just listen? The Bible says a lot about the Holy Spirit and His influence in the life of a believer. In fact, right before Jesus was arrested and taken to Pilate to be handed over for crucifixion, He tells His disciples, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” John 16:7 (NASB). He continues in verse 13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth...He will disclose to you what is to come”. If we believe God sent Jesus to die on the cross, defeat death, and rise from the dead three days later so we can have a relationship with Him, we get God’s very own spirit living in us to guide, direct, teach, convict, help, and counsel us. I love what a sweet mentor of mine told me regarding the Holy Spirit. She said, “Kelly, I call the Holy Spirit my INS: Internal Navigation System”. How correct she is! Among all the names used to describe this gift given by God, “a guide” resonates with me the most. He guides us into truth and convicts us concerning righteousness (John 16:8). If discerned correctly by us, He can reroute the lies and distractions the enemy uses to wage war on our minds and our souls, and guide us to truth. Because...spoiler alert...HE IS THE TRUTH and what He hears, He hears from the Father (John 16:13). So we can have joyful hope in knowing that we have a very present and real counselor who is chomping at the bit for us to tune into Him. So why is it so important that we start listening to God's voice?

The Holy Spirit needs to give us instructions. Is it any coincidence that Jesus, while he was fully human walking the earth, would regularly go away and pray to the Father? Why do you think that is? He had a mission to fulfill! A mission that was so unlike any other mission in the history of missions. One where He would give His own life to save the world. This is why it was critical that Jesus leave His followers, His disciples, and all the other voices vying for His attention so that He could be alone with the Father and pray. I believe strength was obtained. Direction was secured. Courage was produced. Divine resources were handed out like candy on Halloween by the Father, so Jesus (being fully human like we are) could conquer the mission set forth. We, too, have missions we were put on this earth to do. Unique talents, giftings, and characteristics God has given each one of us in order to achieve the purposes He’s called us to. How fortunate are we that our mission comes with an instruction manual in the form of the Holy Spirit? God’s very own spirit that promises to be with us always (Matthew 28:20).

Discerning the voice of God is crucial to abundant living. However, if we let our desires to please people trump our desire to please God, we’ll miss His voice. If we let our ambitions shift to self glory misrepresenting God’s glory, we’ll miss it. If we continue carrying the weight of everyone else’s problems on our shoulders at the expense of our spiritual well-being, we’ll miss it. If we give into our “busy-ness” and “doing” instead of sitting still and listening, we’ll miss it. If we continue making ourselves slaves to our own agendas and our own timelines, we’ll miss it. If we reserve the mountain top for fear while faith lies dormant in the valley, we’ll miss it. If we value the things of this world, voices in this world, situations in this world over God’s fingerprints on our life, we will miss the VITAL INSTRUCTIONS He has for us hindering our progress on the divine path He’s laid for us. The directions He’s longing to give us, like where to go, what to do next, what decision to make, how to respond, will all become inaudible to the never-ending voices swirling around us if we let them. We need to ask ourselves...who are we allowing to speak into our lives? His voice or the quote you saw on Instagram or Facebook? His voice or that really great popcast you heard last week? His voice or your friends and family?

While I do think the things we see on social media, the things we hear on really great podcasts, the voices of well meaning friends and family, and etc. can be viewed as confirmations to the things God is telling us; we have to be careful we aren’t substituting these “voices” for the primary “voice” lest they become a distraction. Why? Because we have an enemy waging war on our soul and mind. The battles waged sprout from spiritual forces and the ruler of them who has deceived us from the beginning. Satan’s number one goal is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). He doesn’t want us to hear God. He wants to use anything he can to distract and deter us from the plans God has for us. So as soon as we start placing more value in the extracurriculars (the social media, the podcasts, the books, the friends and family opinions and advice, etc.) over the required curriculum (prayer and reading the Bible), the devil claps and all his sorry little comrades throw a party.

Evidence of his deceit can be found all the way back to the beginning in Genesis chapter 3 where the crafty serpent basically asks Eve, “But, did God really say you shouldn’t eat off this tree?” (Genesis 3:1). His M.O. is to trip us up just enough to make us question if we heard God correctly. I’ve seen him do this in my own life in more ways than I can count. In fact, he made me question if creating this blog and writing was what God really said to do. If I had a nickel for every time that creepy crawler prompted me to question God’s directives on my life by using the word “really”, I’d be a rich woman. But did you really hear God tell you to start a blog?...So many people have blogs...nobody will read it...you don’t know the Bible well enough...you need a seminary degree in order to use scripture...you don’t have a nice computer to write...you’re not “healed” enough...why do you need to do this?...all questions whispered in my ear. I sit here today writing because I know I’m not writing to please people. I am writing to please God. And that while I’ll never know the Bible “well enough”, I know I don’t need a seminary degree to share with people what Jesus has done for me. I know what my God told me to do, so I’ll obey. I’ll obey regardless of what people think or how well it’s received by human standards. I’ll obey even as the wounds of my past are being sewn up to scars. I’ll obey even if Him and I are the only ones to read it. I’ll obey even though I have to use my janky laptop to write instead of a pristine Mac. And I’ll obey even if I don’t know the reason WHY...greatly because I know the WHO. And the who is all that matters. I’ve decided that not another minute will be wasted believing other voices rather than His. I’ve believed lies and fallen for deceptions from the enemy my entire life, and I have. Had. Enough.

Satan’s “almost truth” precepts will no longer control my mind and dictate my heart posture. It is for freedom that Christ has set me free (Galatians 5:1). Satan is a liar and a thief who knows he’s already been defeated by the blood of Jesus. He just doesn’t want you to know it. I hope you’re fed up, and quite frankly, pissed off like I am. May the spoken name of ‘Jesus’ be our battle cry, and watching the enemy flee our sport. I hope you’ll join me in battle, knowing very well that the victory has already been won.

I should have just ended this with the above, but for more insight on how I learned (and am still learning) to do this, please check out my “7 Tips to Practical Abiding in Jesus” post. There is no mistake about it: We will be bombarded by all kinds of voices as we go about life in this dark world. Voices that, if aren’t discerned correctly, can distract and deter us from the mission we were created for. Voices which, if allowed, will prohibit us from stepping into the life God created us to live. The abundant kind of living that God’s waiting for us to grab hold of and tune into. A calling that He’s wanting so badly to give us instructions for by way of His very own spirit. Since we’re called to be image bearers of Jesus, shouldn’t we take one out of His holy playbook and find some quiet grounds, away from the distractions, to pray? I encourage you to take inventory of the voices that have been filling your time and demanding your attention, and turn the volume down. Then crank it up loud for the one voice that matters.

*While handyman Frank is a real person, Frank is a fictional name.