Yes or No

As a believer, I think of all the choices and decisions of my life, the ones in the past that brought me to this place – where I am today. I also think the choices and decisions I must make now and those ahead of me will keep me on God’s plan and purpose for my life. If you are like me, you will likely also want the assurance that you make the right choices and decisions. How do I know that what I have chosen and decided to do is what God requires of me? These are some age-old questions that every believer who is surrendered to God must consider through each season of life. For me, I am that place again – a crossroad of faith. That is what I want to talk about in this month’s newsletter – how do we know the will of God, especially when we are standing at the crossroads of faith; how do we hear the still voice of our Father amid the noise of life?

As a young believer, I sought the answer to these questions and others in the scriptures. One of the things I discovered came from this Word from God – ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me’ (John 10:27). What makes the sheep follow the Shepherd? One thing alone – confidence in the Shepherd. My confidence is – that He loves me and that His plans and thoughts of me are good, really good (Jeremiah 29:11). I made the decision when I found John 10:27, that if I hear His voice, I will follow Him because I am confident that what He wants for me, is best for me. This then sent me on the quest to learn to hear the voice of God, the voice of the Good Shepherd. What did I discover in the intervening years? “Years?” You may ask. Yes, I said years; hearing God's voice is not a one-time event.) Back to what I discovered. I discovered that learning to hear God and hearing Him is a day-by-day lifestyle born out of fellowship with Him. Just like a baby learns to recognize its parent's voice because of its complete dependency on that parent and because the parent spends time with the baby. Like we learn to find our way around a new place we just moved into, Learning and hearing God come from familiarity born out of practice.

I have also learned that the first place I hear the voice of God is in His Word. Anything God will have us do, His voice or will, will always be consistent with the scriptures. God’s Word is His will. This means that we must be familiar with the scriptures to help us recognize or decipher what we hear in our hearts. The scriptures say, ‘Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path’ (Psalm 119:105). The Word of God will lighten or bring revelation to what was always there, which we had not seen. God’s will or wisdom is hidden deep within our spirits because that is where His Spirit dwells – in our hearts, and the Holy can find it (1 Corinthians 2:6-12). Through our meditating on that Word, the entrance of His Word will cause light or revelation, and we then see clearly. Meditation in the Word will activate God-inspired words. He will speak to your inner man. Your spirit is the candle of the Lord and He gives you light in there (Proverbs 20:27). God’s Word reveals His will. Stay in His Word.

Yours in His service,

& the W2NM Team