The Grace of Hearing
by Todd Stewman
Have you ever stopped to consider what a gift it is to hear the voice of God in your life? God is not silent. He has spoken in the past at many times and in various ways. But, in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. However, not everyone hears the clear voice of Jesus Christ. Some may hear vague growlings that cause them to wonder about the idea of deity. Others may hear fearful roarings that cause them to run and hide from the perceived threat to their own sovereignty. Only God, though, can enable a person to hear and discern what the Lion of Judah is saying. This is grace. A God who speaks to a people who, left to themselves, would only close their ears to Him.
If you follow Jesus Christ, it is because you have heard His voice. Your ears have been divinely tuned to receive what He is saying. He speaks to you by His written Word and He speaks to you by His Spirit. But, you only notice, you only understand, and you only care about what He is saying because of His grace toward you. This is certainly cause for worship! It is also cause to cultivate your ability to listen for His voice in the midst of our noisy world. I’d love to know what you have been hearing from God through His Word.
“This world is bursting with life for these few days because the song with which I called it into life still hangs in the air and rumbles the ground. It will not be so for long. But I cannot tell that to this old sinner, and I cannot comfort him either; he has made himself unable to hear my voice. If I spoke to him, he would hear only growlings and roarings. Oh Adam’s sons, how cleverly you defend yourselves against all that might do you good!”—Aslan in The Magician’s Nephew
Have you ever stopped to consider what a gift it is to hear the voice of God in your life? God is not silent. He has spoken in the past at many times and in various ways. But, in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. However, not everyone hears the clear voice of Jesus Christ. Some may hear vague growlings that cause them to wonder about the idea of deity. Others may hear fearful roarings that cause them to run and hide from the perceived threat to their own sovereignty. Only God, though, can enable a person to hear and discern what the Lion of Judah is saying. This is grace. A God who speaks to a people who, left to themselves, would only close their ears to Him.
“‘For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.”—Matthew 13:15-16
“…his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”—John 10:4
If you follow Jesus Christ, it is because you have heard His voice. Your ears have been divinely tuned to receive what He is saying. He speaks to you by His written Word and He speaks to you by His Spirit. But, you only notice, you only understand, and you only care about what He is saying because of His grace toward you. This is certainly cause for worship! It is also cause to cultivate your ability to listen for His voice in the midst of our noisy world. I’d love to know what you have been hearing from God through His Word.
posted at 11:31 PM
2 Comments:
indeed. great excerpt from the chronicles.
Christians talk a lot about hearing God's voice. I find it hard to believe that hearing God's voice is really a normative part of following Jesus. Nowhere in the Bible does someone have to cultivate some mystical ability to hear God's voice. When God speaks in the Bible, his voice seems to be clear, even if his identity or meaning is not. I wish that Christians would take all the effort that they put into mystically trying to tune in to God and turn that effort towards serving Him in the world. Jesus did not call his followers to try to hear his voice; he said they would hear his voice. Instead of trying to hear God's voice, Christians should try to follow Jesus' clear teachings. If they did, I think that fewer people would lose their faith, not in God, but in the Church.
-Scio me nihil scire
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