Jeremiah 7:23-24 “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.”
Throughout Creation God has revealed His glory and He has called people to know His salvation. The heavens reveal His power and by the earth His majesty is made known–He instructs, He guides, He corrects, and He reveals knowledge.
Through Creation God speaks and through His Word knowledge is made known. For those who desire to know Him, there is no lack of revelation.
God is speaking all the time. The question isn’t whether we can hear God, but rather are we willing to listen?
Listening and hearing is one of those little lessons we give to our children when they fail to walk in obedience. They may hear the instruction but they don’t take it to heart. Kids may think mom is just barking out another order but when she gets stern they are reminded of her authority and justice.
I believe that everyone hears God’s voice in one way or another, what they do with the knowledge is another thing all together. The Lord is continually reaching out to the lost, calling them to repentance, while He is leading the righteous in Truth.
Where are you in this spectrum of belief? If you have been called to draw near and listen, the Lord will show you what to do if you are willing.
The Righteous
The ones who walk in righteousness are those who obey God’s commandments.
2 John 1:6 “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”
The righteous hear God’s voice and obey because of their love for Him. The ability to hear God’s voice is a given trait—the ability to hear is a gift of the Spirit of God.
What is it that separates the righteous from the unrighteous?
*The righteous are willing to listen.
John 5:25 “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.”
Before a person is saved they had to be in a position to respond. The dead are those who lack the Spirit of God and live in condemnation from sin. Once Jesus gave His life, He made a way for the dead to be made alive and opened the door for people to approach the throne of God in grace.
To be made alive, people must respond to the call of God in belief and repentance. The response itself is an act of righteousness and requires the soul to draw near to God in humility—the ability to hear the call comes by way of the Spirit of God, while the gospel is the message that points the lost where to go.
Once a person has come to Christ, the transforming power of His Spirit fills the heart and transforms the mind. The process of growing in faith and knowledge is the essential life of a believer and yet the process doesn’t end after the initial call, God still continues to speak to His people and they must desire to listen and respond in faith.
*The righteous continue to grow in knowledge and Truth.
This process of growth and maturity is one that is a dynamic representation of God dwelling among His people and transforming them by His love and direction.
Galatians 5:16 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
Responding to the Spirit of God requires listening to God, knowing how to listen shows wisdom. The process of hearing and responding to the voice of God comes by way of repentance. The repentant heart desires to walk in holiness because God is Holy, which leads to the next thought…
*The righteous desire to please God.
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
If you’ve ever had children you know how incredibly frustrating it is when a child doesn’t listen to a parent. Parents who strive to lead their children in wisdom have a knowledge that children don’t possess. The hope that a child will develop and grow over time, be guided in truth, and be protected is part of what makes instruction vital in the parent child relationship.
When a child acts or thinks they know more than the parent, it is an affront to the parents role. The child is essentially declaring how the parent is not wise and lacks the knowledge to adequately lead—This is essentially what we do when we neglect God’s leading in our lives.
We treat God like He is unknowledgeable, that He is not loving, nor does He have the wisdom to lead us in the way we ought to go. This child like pattern is a display of ignorance that brings shame. Without true growth and maturity people will remain in the dark, walking in foolishness, and finding the same trouble as before. Whether someone moves on to maturity and acquires the wisdom necessary for godly living is up to them.
Hebrews 3:14-15 “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
The Dead
The ability to hear and respond to God is lacking in those who have rejected Christ. It is the Spirit of God that is given through Jesus by which the believer can receive the instructions necessary for following Him.
1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
The computer programmer knows that a system will not be able to run unless a program has been written, so it is in the life of a believer. We have to have the Spirit of God in our lives for us to walk in God’s path of life.
There is evidence of the ungodly being led by God but it is always a pattern of coercion where God draws them out by their pride or lust for power and uses their sin to entice them to do HIs bidding. It is never a process of seeking the Lord and Him doing the leading as we see in the relationship of God and His people.
Learning to Trust
Are there areas of concern you seek God’s in now?
Jeremiah 17:5 “Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.”
True strength and provision is found only in the Lord. The process by which God’s people make decisions and are lead become the determining factors in how their paths will conclude.
God’s blessing is found in the life of the believer who trusts in Him.
John 14:15-18 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
God’s condemnation is upon those who have forsaken His love and chose this world over Him. It’s not easy learning to trust Him but it becomes easier the more you see and experience His faithfulness.
The Lord is speaking—have you responded?
U.T. 