Now I understand hearing God’s voice can be something of a minefield, and before I say anything more let me say this: the Word of God is clear that His sheep hear His voice (John 10:27) and that as many are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God (Romans 8:14). I believe it’s biblical to hear the voice of God and be led by the Holy Spirit. However, before we learn to hear God’s voice, we should know how to hear His voice speak to us through His Word. Anything we hear from the Spirit of God should never contradict His Word.
I know there are some of you who read my opening statement and may be thinking, ‘Well brother, isn’t that just a case of you being a little flaky?’ My response to that question is, I feel we should never be too proud to concede that perhaps we have missed it. Maybe I did. But I also feel that there are times where we may have genuinely heard from God. We need to be careful that we don’t write off everything that doesn’t work out like we thought it would, as falling into the missing God category.
What about what Jesus did when he went to the cross? Nobody understood where He was going and why He was doing it. He was following the will of the Father. He was being led by the Holy Spirit in all He did. His path looked like a dismal failure in the eyes of the world and yet this obscure path he chose to walk, radically changed the world.
Perhaps you have stepped out in faith. You feel that God told you to step out and do something, and you have fallen flat on your face. Today, I want to encourage you to get back up on your feet, dust yourself off and keep listening to that still small voice.
God wants you to be the enemy’s worst nightmare. God wants you to be an unstoppable force for Him. The enemy might think you’re out for the eight count, but I dare you to get back up on your feet and get back into this great fight of faith! You better believe that if you are going to inherit all God has promised you, there will be a fight or two along the way. There are giants in the land of promise.
Today I want you to consider a passage of scripture with me, from Judges chapter 20. It’s the story of where the tribe of Benjamin had committed a terrible crime in the land and God spoke to the Israelites to go to war against them. In verse 18 it says: “The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Benjamites? “The LORD replied, “Judah shall go first.”
The following day twenty two thousand Israelites were killed. Then they went before the Lord again and God said in verse 23 “Go up against them.” The following day eighteen thousand Israelites were killed. Now at this point they were probably discouraged. Had they heard from God? They fasted and prayed and sought God again, this time God said in verse 28 “Go tomorrow for I will give them into your hands.”
Now it was only after the third time as they persevered in seeking God’s counsel that they won the victory. They could have given up after the first time and said “Did we miss God? Did we hear Him correctly? I thought God was a God of victory and wouldn’t lead us in defeat.” This would have been a perfectly reasonable thing to conclude. However, we need to understand that God always has ultimate victory in mind. We may lose a battle or two as we follow God, but God ultimately wins the war.
We also need to bear in mind that when we obey God, even apparent failure is a success in God’s eyes. Who knows what is being accomplished by our blind acts of obedience. We need to understand that our carnal mind can sometimes be at enmity with God (Romans 8:7). Sometimes faith looks crazy! When Jesus died on the cross it looked like a failure, but in reality it was the greatest success of history.
Every apparent failure – the martyrs that have died in faith, the believers that have been persecuted and mistreated for being obedient to God, may be more successful in the eyes of God than we realize. Jesus said in Matthew 5:12-13 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
I want to encourage you, you may have experienced some setbacks on your journey of following God, but even the setbacks and your willingness to follow God anyway are more precious to God than you realize. Don’t stop following God. Maybe your setbacks are a set-up for a greater and more ultimate victory! Dust yourself off, get back up on your feet and keep listening to that still small voice!
If you enjoyed this word of encouragement, please feel free to sign up for future words of encouragement and updates of our ministry endeavors, by joining our mailing list on the top right hand side of this page.
1 - 1Share
