LIVING BY THE VOICE OF GOD (Part I)
If you and I ever hope to achieve
ultimate success in this life on the level that GOD has designed for us –
whether it be spiritual, emotional, physical, or material success – we simply
have to become ‘tuned-in’ and ‘turned-on’ by THE VOICE [THE WORD] OF OUR GOD.
According to our Lord and Master
Teacher, JESUS CHRIST, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Think seriously. Whose voice are you truly hearing? Whose voice are you internalizing and enacting
in your daily decision-making? WHO is
really in charge of your life?
The Psalmist-King David declared, “The
Lord KNOWS the way of the righteous.” (Psalm 1:6) How is it, I wonder, that God seems to be
absolutely familiar with the footsteps of true believers? The answer is obvious. According to the teachings of scripture, “the
steps of a good man are ordered by the
Lord.” (Psalm 37:23) Beyond God’s
apparent omniscience, every one of a true disciple’s footsteps are a known
quantity to HIM – since HE designed and directed them in the first place!
Nevertheless, following God’s path
is no easy task for us, especially in an age when we come under such diverse
and difficult pressure to conform, to fit in, to assimilate the values of the
larger society. There are so many voices
– such strong and enticing voices – that call out to us hour-by-hour,
moment-by-moment. The secret of success
is learning how to filter out any and all voices that do not come into
agreement with our primary objective: to love, learn and live by the voice of
Almighty God.
What I am about to say might push
you a bit, but consider it anyway.
Sometimes we lie on God, simply because we are guilty of lying to
ourselves and about ourselves. There is
an intriguing story of a little girl who was on her way home from a special
program at school. Her parents had
carefully instructed her not to soil or damage her beautiful new dress. But since she was a child and loved to play,
she made a bad choice, diverted from the path homeward and took a detour to the
playground. Predictably, she ruined her
pretty new dress.
When she got home, the now fearful
little girl was somewhat creative in her explanation about the soiled and
tattered condition of her dress. At the
doorway, her Dad inquired “Cindy, what happened? We told you not to play in your new
dress!” In response, Cindy spilled out
the first thought that leaped into her mind: “Daddy, I was coming straight home,
just like you and Mommy said, when a LION ran out of the woods and started
chasing after me. So I fell down in the
mud and messed up my new dress!”
Dad looked Cindy straight in the
eye. “Cindy, that’s a RIDICULOUS LIE! You go straight to your room and PRAY. Stay there unto you hear from THE LORD about
what He thinks about lying and liars.”
Dutifully, little Cindy headed to her room and knelt down to pray. Fifteen minutes later, Cindy ran down the
stairs with a huge smile on her face.
She strolled right up to her father and said, “Daddy, GOD said it’s o.k.
because (at first) HE thought it was lion too!”
Obviously, folks, Cindy was NOT
hearing or living by the voice of GOD! Many people SAY they are hearing from God
regarding their daily activities, but their routine and results strongly
suggest the opposite! One thing we can
be sure of is this: OUR GOD does not speak out of two sides of His mouth. In other words, whenever GOD speaks to us,
through whatever channels He speaks to us, there is clear-cut scriptural
confirmation that grants assurances that we are indeed hearing and embracing
the perfect will of God.
Question: Are YOU living by the voice of the all-wise God, or are you
more attentive to the values and views of others? Stay tuned…more to come tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment