Hearing His Voice

Sometimes I procrastinate instead of eagerly reading the Bible and praying. I get the notion that God’s will is going to be difficult, impossible or just no fun at all. My conscience pokes at me and I know that all of that is a lie, which makes me wonder why I fall for it. Chambers rebukes me today for imagining such things by quoting the psalmist:

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)

A quick look through Psalm 119 repeats the same thing: God’s will is delightful and the psalmist enjoys keeping His commands. Chambers also quotes a few verses where Jesus rebukes His disciples for having a spirit contrary to His Spirit.

I sense that God is speaking to me, but how do I know this is Him? It sounds a bit like Saul/Paul when Jesus spoke to him at his conversion and he responded with “Who are you, Lord?” but the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 26:15) After that, Paul had no doubts. When Jesus spoke to him, he knew who was speaking.

I can relate to this. Once Jesus came into my life, the voice of God began to speak in ways that overwhelmed me. He revealed the depths of my sinfulness and ignorance. He showed me ways I tried to be a good person but without His Spirit. He also kept affirming His great love for me, and affirming our personal relationship. He even told me: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)

After becoming a Christian, I hear Him speak and know that He knows me. The ‘they follow me’ part is not as consistent though. Serving God is not always a piece of cake. It can produce fatigue and include great stress or sadness. Obedience resulted in the Son of God sweating great drops of blood. Nevertheless, underneath those surface negatives is the great positive of knowing what He asks is the will of God. I just need to always remember that doing it and being deeply delighted go hand in hand.

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Bob is feeling much better today. The infectious disease specialist came in again. He said not all the tests were back yet, but “if he has any of those diseases, he would not be improving.” He couldn’t give a date where Bob would be off the oxygen, out of isolation, or able to go home, but he was very positive. PTL

One of our sons brought his dad a hamburger for lunch. One of his sisters showed up a bit later with treats. We had a game of Cribbage. The sun was shining all day in a cloudless blue sky — and the snow is melting. All good news!