Listening to God.

Listening to God’s Voice

 

Where have you found God’s voice? I remember the psalm where does my help come from? I go to the mountains and find your help there.

 

I rarely have been on a mountaintop and heard God’s voice. I love mountains and looking over God’s creation, however, it’s not a place where I go to listen to God. I love the beach but again it’s not to go and listen to God, more of decluttering my mind and stress.

 

Usually, I hear God’s voice through people I trust. A perfect example is this blog, I have been thinking about starting a blog for years. I always got in my own way. Telling myself that I don’t have enough to say, or why would people want to listen to me. Using my introvert-ness as an excuse I don’t want to be the center of attention.

 

Jman and I have had a year kinda devoted to prayer. Each week at church we faithfully write on our prayer request card for wisdom and strength and peace. Originally this was for our wanting to become parents and the journey we are on. However, it has seemed to be reflected in other aspects of our lives. Jman used to say if you ask God for patience, he will give you opportunities to be patience. It is kinda the same about asking for wisdom. He will challenge you to evaluate things relating to wisdom.

 

Back to the blog, a dear friend of mine suggested that I start a blog. And thankfully I had enough wisdom to realize that God was speaking through my friend. I was asking for wisdom and he was answering.  He was still guiding.

 

Another example of this is sharing my story. Like I’ve said before, I am not an attention seeker. I like to work behind the scenes. However, when I beat cancer, I realized that life was a gift from God and that he wants me to share that voice. I shared my heart at church and at work. Since I was diagnosed I have come in contact with at least 10 people who have been diagnosed with cancer. And sharing my story is not easy it feels like a small piece of my heart breaks when I do but I always hear an urging from God to share.

 

I try to pay attention to those moments when I feel God urging. It’s hard but its rewarding.

 

I’ve often heard it said of God that he only answers yes or no. I believe it’s more like wait and trust.  I’ve often thought of this example of an iron gate that you can see through but it’s bolted shut. I can wait near the gate but until the gatekeeper comes and unlocks it all I’m doing is waiting. This has been kinda a comfort to me because only God knows when this gate will be open.

 

Another way that I heard God’s voice, is what I like to call the 2×4 method. God hits me over the head with the answer that I walk away feeling bruised and battered. Most of the time  I’m my own worst enemy and the way I approach the world causes me to not hear God’s voice. I analyze and analyze and dissect until my inner voice is so loud that it drowns out everything else.

 

God’s voice comes back as a whisper and lovingly corrects me and clears out the self-doubt. God reaches down and calms my mind and I can hear him again.  I often unplug from social media when the angry voices drown out the still and calming voice of God.

 

Listening to God’s voice is not a habit. It’s something that I work each day, through reading my Bible, praying, surrounding myself with like-minded people. And relying on people I trust and letting people in.  I pray about everything. But it’s not like texting Jman or a good friend, so many times I feel like I’m the troubled friend when I talk to God. But remember God can handle our troubles. He wants to handle our troubles and wants us to trust him to listen to his voice.

 

How do you hear God’s voice??? Do you go to the mountains? Do you go to the ocean?

Psalm 121:1-2

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

   where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

   the Maker of heaven and earth.

 

TTFN and God Bless and Keep you.