Yet Another Year of Choices
By Barbara Dahlgren
Music has given me much joy through the years and I’m pretty good at identifying singers of old standards or early rock n’ roll. Being able to recognize someone’s voice is a great way to bore all your friends. “Who’s singing that?” I’ll say. They don’t care, of course, but I give the right answer and it fills me with a certain amount of pride. In the game of life, it’s not all that important to be able to recognize someone’s voice – unless it is the voice of God.
Hearing God’s voice is a tricky proposition. People tell me they hear God’s voice all the time. God tells them to do this or God tells them to do that, but I’m skeptical. Sometimes it seems like they are not really listening for God’s voice to guide them, but to put a stamp of approval on what they have already chosen to do. In that case you can get God’s voice to tell you anything you want to hear. And you can always blame God if it doesn’t work out. After all, He told you to do it!
God speaking directly to a person is the exception not the rule, even in biblical times. In ancient times people were not always happy to hear God’s voice. It was usually telling them to do something they didn’t want to do. Moses had to lead the complaining Israelites. (Exodus 3:14) Hosea had to marry a woman of ill repute. (Hosea 1:1) Job found out how insignificant he was. (Job 40:1) Paul was struck blind. (Acts 22)
Such was the case with Ahab. He wanted to attack the King of Aram. All his advisors knew he had already made up his mind and just wanted God to bless his decision. So they told him what he wanted to hear. “Go for it! You will win.” The prophet Micaiah cautioned him against going.
Ahab never cared much for Micaiah because he always told him the truth. In 1 Kings 22:8 (NLT) he said, “There is still one prophet of the Lord, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.” Ahab, like all of us, only wanted to hear support for what he wanted to do. If we listen closely, we may hear God’s voice. However, He may not tell us what we want to hear.
As God’s sheep we should be able to recognize His voice. (John 10:4-5, 27) However, we cannot recognize the voice of one we are not close to. Therefore, we need to be in constant relationship with God through prayer and Bible study – praying to align ourselves to God’s will and studying to become more like Jesus.
When Christ lives in us, recognizing His voice becomes easier because we know God’s voice will not tell us to do things contrary to the biblical principles He has set in motion. And He expects us to be able to discern what those are. A voice telling us to snipe people from a tall building or get revenge is not the voice of God.
However, God is the great communicator and He can speak to us in many ways. He can speak through…
- His Word: The Bible is written for our instruction, training, correction, and edification. (2 Timothy 3:16,17)
- Creation: We see God’s greatness in His creation. (Romans 1:20)
- Events: Through trials God may be saying, “Learn patience.” Through celebrations He may be saying, “Do not forget Me in the good times.” (James 1:2-5)
- Prayer: Prayer is two-way communication. We ask and God answers. (James 1:5) However, God does not always give us the answer we want to hear.
- Our Conscience: Sometimes an inner voice tells us not to do something. (1 Peter 3:16)
- Meditation: Slow down. Be still so you can hear God. (Psalm 46:10)
- Others: Friends can be closer than family at times and a wise man seeks counsel before making decisions. (Proverbs 18:24; Proverbs 11:14)
Consider this… Sometimes we are so intent on looking for a special sign or revelation that we miss what God says to us daily. The closer we are to God, the easier it is to hear and recognize His voice.
One final thought…
The voice of God will never contradict the Word of God.
