Hearing GodSample

God is a Communicator

He’s always speaking and His words carry unimaginable power.

He spoke the world into existence. When He said, “Let there be light,” galaxies were illuminated. Because He never said, “Stop!” the universe continues to expand at the speed of light.

From the very beginning, God has been speaking to His people on a daily basis with the intended purpose of developing and strengthening their relationship while providing regular guidance and encouragement.

Look at the first chapter of the first book of the Bible. As soon as He made people in His image, He started speaking to them. He blesses them and tells them to be fruitful, to fill the earth, and to take good care of it (Genesis 1:27-29).

When we think about hearing God, we’re looking for direction for our future. This creates significant pressure.

• What if I misheard what He said? What if I make the wrong choice? If I choose option A when God wanted me to choose B, will I mess up the rest of my life? If I make that mistake, will God ever trust me enough to speak to me again?

If you can relate to any of these scenarios, you know how difficult and complicated this can be.

This is why God wants to make it simple to learn to hear from Him. And it’s available to anyone who will receive the gift. We learn to hear God through the person of Jesus. Jesus shows us who God is. Jesus shows us how to hear God. And Jesus gives us His promise, His guarantee we can do it.

What does this mean for us?

In John 10, Jesus tells us He is the Good Shepherd and His followers are His sheep. He calls them by name, He leads them out, and they know His voice.

Think about that. One of the greatest fears we have is to be unseen and unknown.

We worry, Does God know what I’m going through? Does He see me? Has He forgotten about me? Jesus reminds us that He sees us, He knows us, He calls us by name, and He leads us out.

He’s got a plan. He’s preparing for our future. He knows what we don’t know.

Without any qualifiers or conditions, Jesus promises: My sheep listen to (hear) My voice.

What does it take to hear God? Do you have to be special? Does it require perfect obedience? Do you have to memorize the Bible? Do you need secret knowledge of deep spiritual truths? We don’t have to be anxious or stressed. Jesus put the pressure on Himself. He’s a Good Shepherd.

Jesus speaks to us, provides for us, guides us, and directs us; we just need to listen.

Let the reality of this push back against the anxiety or worry you may feel in this area. The problem is not whether God will speak to us. Jesus has settled that question.

The question is, will we listen when He speaks?

Over the next week, we’ll see, through God’s Word, how He speaks and learn to hear His voice clearly.

Go deeper with our Hearing God Study Guide.