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Well, my plan for yesterday was to read through the gospel of John since I didn’t have much energy for housework. Earlier that day a friend had asked me if there were any verses in the Bible about how to hear Gods voice and I didn’t really have much to tell her. I said I didn’t think the Bible laid out any clear cut formula but that it was just a matter of your relationship with him. As I set out to read John I found myself reading answers to that very question.
We have three options for the source of what we hear. Either it is the enemy trying to lead us astray, our flesh trying to please itself, or God guiding us. I found three verses that explain how I usually discern what is behind the things I hear. The first verse that struck me was John 3:31, “He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.” Is this for any eternal benefit. Then 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Is there any way this could be the enemy trying to get me off track by getting me to focus on my flesh. Finally 7:24, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” Can I see Gods work being done through this or my own adgenda. I don’t believe that if it is something I want it is always against what God wants but I tend to be more skeptical. It seems to many times be a lot like playing chess except in life I’m not forced to play my hand whether I know the outcome or not. I can always stay put until God makes His way clear.
One of the biggest things that struck me was the conversations Jesus had with the Pharisees. It seemed like, in John anyway, most of the time they were trying to recognize who Jesus was so in a way it is like our struggles today with wondering where our messages come from. The Pharisees were always asking who He was and He was always telling them that if they had known His Father they would know Him. (John 5:39-42, 6:45, 8:19,54-55) Knowing the Father always went hand in hand with knowing the scripture. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32) Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?” (Mark 12:24) Now this statement had to offend the Pharisees. I doubt anyone “knew” the scripture like them. The problem was that they got the legalities but totally missed the heart of Gods word. It isn’t just in the New Testament where people enter into a relationship with God. There were many in the Old Testament that had a great love relationship with God. David would have to be the best example. God Himself called David “a man after His own heart”, David loved God so much that his hearts desires were put aside for Gods. The psalms are full of David’s love letters to his king. In the largest chapter in the larges book of the Bible,(Psalm 119) David relays over and over where his guidance and comfort comes from, Gods word. The Pharisees could have known the Father through the word as well but they had chosen to focus on the law. Jesus rebukes them for this in Luke 11:42, “But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” They did not search the scriptures closely enough. They focused so much on the preciseness of their tithe that they completey missed the message of Gods love for them. Therefore when Jesus came, they did not recognize Him.
I think that is a great lesson for us. The better we know Gods word the more we know Him and can recognize when He is speaking.
The only times I have known God was speaking to me have been the times it was clearly an eternal matter, a little poke in the ribs when I am considering sin to say, “Nah, ah, ah”, or a little push to pray for someone, write to someone, fast, or spend time alone with God. I know it is Him when my flesh doesn’t want to and I satan would hate it. But most of the time He uses His word. He puts a verse I’ve memorized into my head right when I need it most, or He directs me to a certain book or subject I need to study.
Of the things I hear that I am not sure of, especially when it appeals to my flesh, I am always careful of until God shows me beyond a shadow of a doubt where He is in the matter.
