“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20).

The subject of the Chaplain’s Corner last week was about how God hears our voices. On the opposite side of the coin, how do we distinguish God’s voice from the multitude of voices that we hear continuously, either from an external or an internal source? How can we recognize when it is really God who is speaking? Jesus used the metaphor of a shepherd when he said in John 10:17 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

First, we must want to hear Him. This reminds me of an issue between my husband and me. Sometimes I get lost in thought and don’t even hear my husband talking when he’s right next to me. I tell him he needs to get my attention before starting to speak. And I have accused my husband of hearing only what he wants to hear (he actually grins when I tell him that). God speaks to us, and if we want to be sure not to miss any messages, we must get our hearts in a position to hear. That position is figuratively, and perhaps literally, on our knees. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Second, we can rule out anything we hear that is opposing His will. How do we know what His will is? We must know what the Bible says. Foundational to being able to recognize when it is really God who is speaking is to have a good knowledge of the Bible. Read your Bible. Pray to God to help you understand His Word. Participate in Bible studies whenever you have a chance. Read good commentaries. In this way we will learn what is godly and what is not. God will never contradict Himself, so if you hear a voice telling you something that differs from God’s Word, then it is not from God.  “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Sometimes we hear conflicting voices; perhaps we are faced with a choice and are hearing voices advocating for both sides. How do we know? If one of the choices has elements of opposition to God’s will, then we should rule it out, or at the very least defer the decision until we can get more information. For example, I know that many of you have entertained multiple job offers and have ruled out jobs that would require you to be subjected to an ungodly environment. That is probably wise. Perhaps you are dating two people, one of which is not a believer. Knowing that the Bible tells us not to be unequally yoked, you discontinue dating the nonbeliever. That is very wise. Sometimes both choices are equally good, and in that case then either one should be okay.  Just evaluate the pros and cons, consulting wise and godly advisors if possible.

On that note, we can also hear God’s voice as God speaks through other people. “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22). The test is to filter what you hear from through God’s Word to ensure that it is consistent.

Third, it helps to avoid noise. Two helpful definitions of noise are from Webster: (b) any sound that is undesired or interferes with one’s hearing of something and (e) irrelevant or meaningless data or output occurring along with desired information. My husband cannot tolerate static. He’s always tuning the radio to eliminate that unwelcome noise. It’s good for us to do the same. Okay, sometimes it’s very difficult to avoid noise. When I walk downtown, I can’t avoid the noise of traffic and construction and I don’t believe the solution is to avoid walking downtown. However, if the noise is coming from questionable music or television or movies and I have a choice to listen to something else more edifying, then I should make that choice to eliminate it or at least to tune out the trash. Have you heard the term “garbage in, garbage out?”

Click here for a great article on how to quiet your mind. God tells us to “be still and know that I am God” because he often speaks to us in a whisper, or as the KJV puts it, a “still small voice.” It is essential for our spiritual health to be alone and have quiet time with God so that we can hear Him.

Fourth, speaking of edifying which means building up, God’s voice will always be constructive with a goal of building His kingdom. We can know that destructive messages are not from God. Sometimes the most noise comes from inside my own head. I can come up with some really destructive messages. (Do you ever call yourself ugly names?) It’s very difficult just to be quiet inside your own head, but you can replace those destructive messages with constructive ones if you consciously try. It helps to have some “go-to” Bible verses to recite to yourself when your mind is especially going wild. In this way, you can be confident that you are concentrating, perhaps even meditating, on God’s Word rather than destructive messages, whether they are internal or external. This will have a positive effect on you. For example, I often tell myself to “take every thought captive” when the voices in my mind begin to be overpowering. When I am fearful, reciting Psalm 23 is most comforting, because despite the seemingly pastoral setting, shepherding, as David knew from his own experience, could be a dangerous and lonely occupation.

Fifth, and possibly the most challenging situation I face is when I do not hear God’s voice. He may not be telling me to wait, but He’s not telling me to go forward either; it seems that he’s just not saying anything. My inclination is to take the absence of direction as a yes and to take action according to my own inclination, but I’ve learned the hard way that I should have probably done the opposite and continue to wait during His silence. For one thing, if we are truly obedient in listening, then we need to realize that God is being intentional in His silence. And for another thing, there are important messages, even in the apparent silence. The regularity of the daily schedule of sunrises and sunsets speak of God’s faithfulness. Birds sing of God’s provision. Storms boom God’s power. God is surely at work, whether or not we sense his presence or hear his voice. When we don’t readily hear God’s voice or sense His direction, we should be ever more diligent to put ourselves in a right position to be able to hear Him, because He will never fail to direct our paths. Click here for another article on what to do in this case (I especially love #4).

Finally, here is an important warning:  When we ignore God’s voice repeatedly, through disobedience our hearts can become hardened so that we will become deaf to his word.  In Matthew 13:15, Jesus said of the Pharisees, and indeed all the unbelieving people: “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.” (Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 6:10). One of the scariest scriptures in the Bible is when Jesus said, “I never knew you.”As I mentioned in last week’s Chaplain’s Corner, when my grandson Judah heard his Daddy’s voice, he turned and listened. I pray that you will do the same when you hear your Father speak.

I pray that Jesus will say of each of us, as he does to his disciples in Matthew 13:16-17: ^“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

In Christ,

Judy