His Word--His Voice

     I have bionic-strength hearing. Ask my husband who, much to his disappointment, is never able to startle me, and he will tell you that my hearing ability is sometimes maddening. When in a crowd, I hear bits and pieces of several different conversations, babies crying, the overhead lights buzzing, a mobile telephone on vibrate, the squeaky wheel of that one grocery cart five aisles over…I hear all of these “noises” simultaneously. It’s not uncommon for me to experience sensory overload. Today as I was wavering between gratitude for and delivery from this ability, I thought, “Lord forgive me, I don’t want to ever be out of range of Your voice!”
     Amidst the chaos and confusion, I am always able to clearly hear God’s voice in His word. Job 33:14 says, “God does speak, sometimes one way and sometimes another—even though people may not understand it.” God wishes to communicate with us through His word, to tell us His ways and His will. As new Christians we wonder how to distinguish between our thoughts and desires and God’s will. How do we know God’s will? Ephesians 5:17 admonishes disciples of Jesus Christ “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”
     There is only one reason we question His will: we’re not “tuned in” to His word. Once we’ve matured in our walk with the Father we understand that God’s primary way of showing us His will is through the Bible. We must refer to His instruction not only daily, but situationally.
     Just imagine God has handed you a personal instruction manual that you must follow procedurally in order to perform your job. For each situation that arises, you must check the instruction manual. After a period of training, you begin to know His voice, and recognize an overall purpose and focus. Then, once you’ve mastered several trials and made a few errors, even a fractional detour from the manual will seem silly. God’s will is clearly defined in His manual, and He would never ask us to do something that was in violation of His instruction.


Having trouble knowing His will? Let His manual be your guide.


The Sovereign LORD has given me His words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to His will. The Sovereign LORD has spoken to me and I have listened. Isaiah 50:4,5 NLT