Hearing from God

In my Sunday night study group we are learning how to recognize when God speaks. The people of the Old Testament really had it made when it came to God speaking directly to them. God would show up in a grand way, do what he needed to do and then be silent, sometimes for years on end. I often thought how cool it would be for God to just show up and speak to me, like he did with Moses in the burning bush or Samuel when anointing David or Zechariah in the temple when God told him through an angel that Elizabeth would have a child in her old age. God had this way of just showing up, in splendid ways that would astound and humble the people. Then it occurred to me, God shows up in my life every day, not in splendid ways but in quiet subtle ways and He pursues me. The problem is, I sometimes don’t hear Him, often I ignore Him and many times I just don’t get it. How about you, do you hear from God or has He been silent. Maybe you are experiencing a desert season in your life. What would you say if I told you that even when He is silent He is pursuing you? That he is speaking to you in His silence. Bear with me as I share what I hear.

Priscilla Shirer in her study “Discerning the Voice of God” says this. “The Holy Spirit works in our hearts, in the hearts of others, and in the events of our lives to point us in God’s direction. He uses all these things to cause us to hear and heed His voice.” “God is persistent.” Think of a time in your life when you had to make a decision that was not only difficult but at times agonizing. I can give you an excellent example. Not long ago I was asked if I would be interested in pursuing management with lia sophia. I love the company, the jewelry, the people and I was having fun right where I was, so not only did this surprise me it caught me off guard. Why would I want to pursue being a unit manager? I was comfortable where I was, liked what I was doing and really wasn’t working that hard to earn the extra income lia sophia provided. Management just sounded like a lot of work and a lot of time. My immediate thought was, no, I am comfortable where I am. But God started working on my heart. Daily I committed to pray about what direction He would have me go. Notice I did not immediately respond. I have learned that answering immediately can get you in a lot of trouble. Committing to pray about every decision has become pretty common for me. It’s the learning to say “no” lesson, I needed to learn a long time ago. We’ll call this a lesson that comes with age and wisdom. Anyway, I prayed, hard, for almost a month. And every time I prayed I heard God saying, “Jane, I know you know sales, I know you are good at it, you’ve been selling for years but what you really love, what you are passionate about are books and reading and teaching. Why are you not pursuing your passion?” To which I responded, “but God”. My immediate response was an objection to what I was hearing. How could I pursue my passion? To be a librarian I need a degree, to teach I need a degree and to even work with books I need more knowledge than what I have in my bachelor’s degree arsenal. So, I prayed more and every time I heard God say, “Jane, you love books, you love reading, why are you not pursuing your passion?” Then I heard something else, God, through others was opening the doors for me to not only pursue my passion but promote to manager so that I could help pay for the schooling I need to pursue what I love. He not only provided mentors, people who could guide me but he began to provide shows and people who wanted to be advisors and before I knew it I was signing the paperwork to promote and accepted in the masters program at USC. He provided, He pursued me and all He ask in return was that I hear Him and obey. Not in splendid or supernatural ways but in people He put in my path, books that He knew would help me hear him and even songs that would help me draw closer to what His word was saying to me.

That’s how God works, he pursues us relentlessly. Even in our desert seasons, when His silence rings loudest of all, He is holding us, saying, “wait, I have more for you but right now, I just need you to be still.” It would be so easy to brush Him off, we tell ourselves lies every day about how we are not good enough, smart enough, thin enough, tall enough, the list is endless. And yet, in our weakness He is strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9 from “The Message” says “My strength comes into its own in your weakness”. Romans 8:28 tells us that even when we don’t know what to pray the spirit will intercede on our behalf. God provides the direction; we must choose daily to hear him. This morning in my quiet time God gave me a song. It’s an old hymn written by Clara H. Scott in 1841. Below are the words. As you spend a few quiet moments with God meditate on these words and be ready to hear. Revelation 3:20 says “I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door; I will come in to him and dine with him and he with me.” God is knocking, are you listening?



“Open my eyes, that I may see;

Glimpses of truth thou hast for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unlock and set me free.”



Chorus:

“Silently now I wait for thee,

Ready my God, Thy will to see;

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit divine.”



“Open my ears, that I may hear,

Voices of truth thou sendest clear;

And while the wave notes fall on my ear,

Everything false will disappear.”



Chorus