WEEKLY DEVOTION

HEARING THE VOICE OF GOD

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One of the most difficult questions to answer is, “How do you know God is speaking to you?” In other words, how do we know that it is God’s voice we are hearing in the midst of countless noises and sounds around us? Certainly, this is a very fair question to ask, but obviously not very easy to answer. There are people who are looking for a clear and definite answer to this kind of inquiry. And, with this type of inquiry, they are interested to know if God indeed speak to us.

We are living in a world of sounds. We hear different sounds everywhere and it can be very confusing a times. Birds chirping, dogs barking, passing cars, flying airplanes, rushing wind, flowing water, and even crying infant from the distance are just a few of the common sounds we hear. The only people who are incapable of hearing anything are those who are deaf. As humans, we are surrounded by an inescapable reality of having different sounds which can influence our behavior in many ways. Psychologists have determined long ago that sounds affect human emotions. Children, especially babies, are known to react by crying when they hear their parents screaming. Listening to different types of music can create various types of emotions from being sad to being happy. Sound of loud car engine noise gives many young drivers sense of excitement to drive faster. A husband tends to feel guilty about something when he hears his wife crying.  When Christians hear the words of praise being proclaimed during the church service, they are inspired to join in worship whether by declaring words of praise or singing songs which glorify God. Our human responses to sounds are inevitable. Sounds have been part of human existence and have influenced us greatly from the very beginning.

Definitely, humans have the ability to identify different sounds since birth. Our ability to recognize different sounds improve as we get older. However, the process of recognizing different sounds doesn't come automatically. It takes time to learn to differentiate individual sound. It needs constant repetitions of each sound to enter our brain to become familiar. Recognizing specific sound may be a challenge but not impossible to identify if it is constantly being heard. Our ears are equipped with nerve cells and various parts capable of recognizing various sounds. Part of our physical makeup, in the biological standpoint, is the ability to hear the different sounds around us. In order to understand the process of recognizing and identifying different sounds, we need to learn the role of the ears and how hearing works. It starts when sound waves travel inside our ears then are filtered by nerve cells and various sensitive parts and mechanisms which send and communicate the signals to our brain that can determine where the sounds are coming from and what objects are creating them. Thus, the process of recognizing individual sound may take some time to be completely identified.

The process of recognizing the voice of God may take some time also unless God chooses to make his voice known immediately and supernaturally. It is not unusual for God to operate in this manner. He speaks all the time. It may not be audible, but he surely speaks. There are at least two examples in the Bible that I know when God spoke to men audibly; (1) what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus when Jesus spoke to him directly from heaven, and (2) when God spoke to Moses through the burning bush. Consequently, to hear the voice of God, we must learn the process of learning to listen. We must be willing to set aside some time during the day if we want to hear what God is saying. When we occupy our lives with many things, it is very hard to listen to His voice when he speaks. That is the reason why Psalms 46:10 says; “to be still and know He is God.” It is during the time of “being still” before God when we can hear the voice of God. In the midst of his busyness to do the work he was called to do, Jesus, took many hours to be alone in solitude in order to hear the voice of God. Thus, Christians must follow the example of Jesus. We must discipline our spiritual life in prayer, and by constantly meditating on the Word of God. This is the process needed to be done if we want our desire to hear the voice of God become a reality. It will be very difficult for us to hear the voice of God if we do not discipline ourselves in prayer and meditation. God’s voice becomes more recognizable to our hearing when we are committed in spending time with God in a regular basis. The more we spend time with God, the more we will hear his voice.

In conclusion, it is a known fact that sheep know their shepherd’s voice. They do not follow other shepherds because they are not familiar with their voices. Sheep only listen to their own shepherd because they constantly hear his voice. They know his voice so they follow him. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice, and I know them and they follow me (John 10:27-28).” Jesus is our Great Shepherd and we are the sheep of his pasture. Therefore, we must learn to recognize and know his voice.

In the world filled with different voices, let us learn not just hear what God is saying, but also learn to obey his words. The true followers of Christ are those who hear his voice and put his words into practice.

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Pastor Dennis H. Geronimo