The Secret Is In the Voice

Rick is currently on the job hunt. We talked last night about which job he really wants. He said, "I just want to be where God wants me." "How are you going to know where that is?" I asked.

How do we know what God wants?

To people who are new Christians or not believers, this may sound a little strange, but...

the secret is in the voice.

I normally sleep soundly. When the hurricane came through Houston, I slept like a rock. Our family slept in the den. Trees were falling over, rain was pelting the windows, our back door flew open in the middle of the night, and I was sleeping like a baby. My husband says there is one thing that will jar me from sleep in a split second - the sound of my children's voices. The kids can take one slow breath or make one tiny whimper and my head is up, I'm listening to make sure everyone is okay. Why is that? Mommas are in tune to the voices and sounds of their children. We could recognize them in the middle of a football arena with thousands of fans cheering.

It's the same with discovering God's will. We have to be able to identify the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We must be in tune with the sounds, the voice, and the action of God in our life.

When we recognize it in a crowded stadium or in a quiet moment, we listen and obey.

The best way to explain it is by the little critter, Geminy Cricket. Remember the voice on Pinnochio's shoulder telling him what to do? As Christians we don't have a cricket in our pocket, we have the actual mind and spirit of Christ living in us, leading and teaching us. It's not easy to recognize at first, but the more you look and listen for it, the more you will see and hear it.

How do you know when you hear it?

It always sounds like God's word. It will never contradict what the Bible says.

If you are praying, "Should I leave my husband?" and you hear the voice, "Yes." or maybe you see a billboard that says, "Run from what is driving you crazy!" and you think, that must be the spirit telling me to leave. Wrong! That goes against what God says in his word. When you think you recognize the spirit, ask, "Is this what the Bible says?"

Where are the best places to see/hear the spirit?

* Make a habit of daily spending time with God.

Have you seen couples who have been married for years and they can answer each other's sentences? That's because they have spent so much time together. The more time you spend with Christ, the more you will think like him and recognize his prompting.

* Reading the Bible.

Before you read the Bible, ask God to speak to you. Look for 1 NUGGET! Like a miner digging for gold, read the word, sift through the verses, until you read that 1 thing that makes your heart skip a beat or your mind go, "What did that say?" That's what God is saying to you!

* At church.

Get hooked up to a church that preaches from the Bible. Everything I am sharing with you, God taught me at church. Sure a preacher is speaking to a whole congregation, but for those who are listening, he will speak clearly and individually.

So how do we know what God wants? Remember...the secret is in the voice!