This post is for the people who hear God’s voice yet they wonder how to gather the courage to follow it.
I believe that God speaks and leads us to follow Him in this journey of life. I also believe that we have the privilege to vote. We can say yes or say no to following God’s voice in obedience. What is God’s voice? Well, His voice is His word, the Bible.
As I read the One Year Bible, I am faced with stories of people who held that same choice in their hands. Some had the courage to follow God’s voice, others completely ignored it.
Take king Jehoram for example (2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21). The Bible describes him as wicked but the “Ahab wicked” type. He could have followed God’s voice but he chose to abandon the Lord, which led him to a painful, severe intestinal disease that killed him after 2 years of intense suffering. To make matters worse, this guy’s funeral wasn’t as royal as the other funerals in his family. His father, Jehoshaphat, is described as a man who sought the LORD with all his heart. Fathers and sons alike have the choice to follow God’s voice. It is up to each individual to make the best decision for himself.
It takes courage to follow God’s voice. God is after people who follow his voice in its entirety, not half-heartedly. I’m not saying that the result of not following God’s voice is intestinal disease my friends. We all have been the person who did not follow God’s voice and yet, we are alright. Thank God for mercy and forgiveness! Yet, I believe there are consequences for each choice we make. I want to choose obedience to God’s voice because it leads to life.
You and I are not wicked (or regular) kings much like the ones I’ve been reading in the One Year Bible lately. What we do have in common with those guys (and girls) is the fact that we get to vote when it comes to following God’s voice. Will you do what the Bible says or will you ignore it? This powerful choice is ever before us.
Let me be honest and tell you that following God’s voice is not glamorous. What is God’s voice? Well, I find it in His word, the Bible and I apply it to every aspect of my life. Here is what it looks like in real life:
Walking back to a store because the cashier forgot to charge me for the rotisserie chicken. Oh, I had 3 small kids with me and it was hot outside yet, I chose to walk back with the dripping chicken and the three sweet kids to pay for that product.
I’ve had to take insults from people because I believe I should stand up for peace and let God take care of the rest. Those moments didn’t make me a push over. They made me a person who chooses to obey God as a habit. Trust me, I’ve had to stand up for myself a lot of times. They key is to seek discernment from the Holy Spirit.
It takes courage to follow God’s voice because a lot of times it makes me look silly but it sure helps me sleep soundly at night. You can’t walk in obedience and expect everyone around you to affirm your choice. God is the One who sees and who is pleased when His children choose to follow His voice in obedience. I also believe that God seeks people who follow all His statutes and commandments. It may seem hard to do but very possible.
Making the choice to follow God’s voice makes you stick out like a sore thumb. I try to deflect that attention to God’s faithfulness to His word. I believe He is who He says He is and He will not fail me. I’m also reminded that God never meant for me to look exactly like the culture I live in or belong to. I am His and He is not of this world.
Following God’s voice is about trust. I am choosing to trust God’s Word and His ways above everything I feel and see in the natural.
I wonder if you have been faced with that choice lately. I wonder if you will choose to wholeheartedly follow after God.
I encourage you to get familiar with God’s voice as you read and study the Bible. He doesn’t contradict Himself so get familiar with the Bible.
If you need a resource to do that on your own, please visit MerryMinistries.com and listen (or watch) to the Bible being taught verse by verse. The study of the word will transform your life as it has transformed mine.
Be strong in the Lord my friend.
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