God, Is That You?

For much of my life I sat in awe and wonder of people who would pray for guidance on a matter and receive clear direction from God. Don’t get me wrong, I have been on the receiving end of multiple blessings from God as a result of prayer, but I don’t remember feeling a direct connection or relationship with Him. I had never heard him whisper straight to my heart or saw scripture come alive giving me the answer to the problem that had been plaguing my soul. I had never felt the physical presence of his Spirit run through my body like electricity. And yet, I believe that it wasn’t that God wasn’t speaking directly to me, but rather that I simply was not recognizing and discerning His voice or presence in my life. Looking back over the past several years, I can vividly pinpoint moments when I believe God was speaking directly to me, but I simply didn’t recognize His voice at the time. 

Several years ago, on a Sunday morning, we were driving home from church. As I sat in the passenger side of my husband’s truck with our two small children in the backseat, I had a silent struggle in my heart.  There had been an announcement that they were looking for volunteers to help with refugees from Syria moving into our area. I felt compelled to help with this ministry, and I couldn’t explain it, but I could explain it away. As we sat at the red light at the end of our road, I convinced myself that I wasn’t the right person for this minestry. Someone else would be better suited for that calling. I didn’t have time for that, after all, I was working and had two small children. It sounded scary and like it could cost me something. I silenced the voice of God in my heart and allowed the lies of the enemy to win. I allowed fear and doubt about MY abilities to silence His voice and lead me to say “no” to this request instead of recognizing God and relying on the truth that, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). I wondered if my response would have been different had I truly recognized at the time that it was God calling me to do His work?

About 2 months ago, I was writing a reflection titled, “Saying Yes to God.” I was ready to stand in front of a roomful of people and discuss how I was learning to discern God’s voice in my life and how this has allowed me to say “yes” to Him. In this reflection I wrote about the time I said “no” to helping the Syrian refugees because I didn’t recognize the voice of God, and how much I had changed since that day. 

Several weeks later, I received a Facebook request asking for assistance with refugees who were being relocated from Rwanda to our community. My immediate response was to say “no,” but this time I clearly heard God speaking straight to my heart and I was convicted. He clearly said, using the very reflection I wrote only several weeks prior as well as scripture, that I want to be someone who says yes to Him, yet when He calls me to do His work on this earth that is scary and may cost me something, my reaction is to say “no.” I cannot even begin to put into words how this experience shook me.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss God when He speaks to me, even if what He says is hard to hear. I want to be a woman who hears and recognizes Gods voice. Beyond that, I want to be a woman who hears God and says “YES!” Despite my fears. Despite my selfishness. Despite any number of lies the devil whispers in my ears to make me miss the opportunity. But how on earth do I do this?

Discerning the voice of God is not something that comes easily for me, and to further complicate matters, our culture does not make it easy to hear God’s voice. Our lives are noisy and busy. We are inundated with text messages, social media, emails, work demands, household duties, and a million other distractions competing for our time and attention. We want to hear God speaking to us, and yet we fill every moment of our day, not leaving any margin in which He can speak. We say we want to say “yes” to God, but we say “no” before we even realize that it is His voice that we hear. 

So, if you are at all like me and want to hear God’s voice, but have struggled knowing where to start, one suggestion I have followed is to carve out some margin in my life. Put away your phones, quiet the thoughts racing in your head, and make space for God to speak. Ask Him in prayer to open your heart to Him and to allow you to hear His voice. Then truly listen. May God bless you as you grow in relationship with Him and seek to hear His voice clearly so that you can say “yes.”