Hearing From God

According to Prevention magazine, our ears continue to grow throughout the course of our lifetime.  When we are very young, they are proportional to our body size.  After age 10, the growth slows down but continues steadily until we die.  So using this logic, we should have better hearing as we get older… larger ears means better sound processing right?  Not really.  In fact, as we age, our hearing ability actually decreases.  

Sad but true.  

But there is one aspect of our hearing that should improve as we get older… hearing from God.  Why?  Because if we’re doing it right when we’re young… we should be getting to know Him more and more!  Spending time in His word… hearing messages in His church… writing about Him in our journals… telling others about Him when the opportunity comes…  We should be growing closer to Him… and His voice should be getting louder as the shadows grow longer.  2 Corinthians 4 tells us that although we are physically failing over time… we are actually being “renewed day by day” by God.  Want to know what God sounds like?  Spend time with Him.  Pray.  Ask Him to tell you and teach you what you need to know.  And as the years pass… your ability to hear physically may fade… but your capacity to hear from the One that matters will sharpen. 

Hearing

Did you know that your ear is using thousands of moving parts to make hearing happen?  Scientists tell us that certain parts vibrate more than twenty thousand times per second and can distinguish over two thousand different pitches and tones!  So why do so many struggle hearing God?  With such a precision instrument in our possession... why is hearing His voice so difficult?  

Maybe we truly do hear it... just not in our ears.  While I’ve never heard the audible voice of God... I do know that He communicates with me through His Word, the Bible... Every syllable intentional... every page written to impact my life.  Let’s take today and block out distraction... get in a quiet place... open His word... and listen.  There’s a lot He wants to share! 

Growing And Hearing

According to Prevention magazine, our ears continue to grow throughout the course of our lifetime.  When we are very young, they are proportional to our body size.  After age 10, the growth slows down but continues steadily until we die.  So using this logic, we should have better hearing as we get older… larger ears means better sound processing right?  Not really.  In fact, as we age, our hearing ability actually decreases.  

Sad but true.  

But there is one aspect of our hearing that should improve as we get older… hearing from God.  Why?  Because if we’re doing it right when we’re young… we should be getting to know Him more and more!  Spending time in His word… hearing messages in His church… writing about Him in our journals… telling others about Him when the opportunity comes…  We should be growing closer to Him… and His voice should be getting louder as the shadows grow longer.  2 Corinthians 4 tells us that although we are physically failing over time… we are actually being “renewed day by day” by God.  Want to know what God sounds like?  Spend time with Him.  Pray.  Ask Him to tell you and teach you what you need to know.  And as the years pass… your ability to hear physically may fade… but your capacity to hear from the One that matters will sharpen. 

Hearing

Grayson Clamp was born deaf.  He never heard a sound in his life until June of 2013 when he became the first child in the United States to receive an auditory brain stem implant.  The device allows his brain to process sound the way a hearing person’s would.   The first thing he heard?  His father sitting over his bedside saying  “Daddy loves you.  Daddy loves you.”

Today as you read this devotional... maybe you need to hear the same thing.  Your Heavenly Father loves you.  He does.  He is passionate about you.  He steps in for you... protects you... provides for you... reaches out for you... and listens to you when you talk to Him.  He never moves from your side and always has His loving arm around you when you get scared.  

Don’t allow the world to cover your ears.  Some people will discourage you and convince you that you are alone.  They will make you feel unloved and remind you that you have made mistakes.  They’ll try to distract you from God’s gentle whispers with silent betrayal and painful criticism.  Don’t let them.  Take some time today... close your eyes... and let God tell you again and again... 

You are mine.

I’m right here.

Daddy loves you. 

Hearing

Did you know that your ear is using thousands of moving parts to make hearing happen?  Scientists tell us that certain parts vibrate more than twenty thousand times per second and can distinguish over two thousand different pitches and tones!  So why do so many struggle hearing God?  With such a precision instrument in our possession... why is hearing His voice so difficult?  

Maybe we truly do hear it... just not in our ears.  While I’ve never heard the audible voice of God... I do know that He communicates with me through His Word, the Bible... Every syllable intentional... every page written to impact my life.  Let’s take today and block out distraction... get in a quiet place... open His word... and listen.  There’s a lot He wants to share! 

Quiet Voice

Life gets pretty loud.  Alarm clocks ring...kids cry... bosses yell... and our past screams at us from thoughts we wish we could forget.   Things get hectic... and if we’re not careful, we’ll let distraction win.   We are often told how much God wants to say to us... so why is it so hard to hear His voice in the midst of life?

Our question isn’t a new one.  Let’s take a look at the life of Elijah...

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.” 1 Kings 19:11-12

Elijah stood patiently and waited for God to speak.  And as the winds whipped through his hair... he became convinced that a powerful God would chat with him in a rowdy way.  He was wrong.  Then the earthquake came... surely God would communicate as the ground moved.  Wrong again.  After that... fire.  Yes!  Elijah knew the story of Moses’ burning bush... this must be a repeat performance!  God was going to tell him everything he needed to know when the heat was on!   Nothing.  Zip.  God wasn’t talking through the noise at all.  

Instead, He waited.  And then God whispered.   Gently.  Elijah didn’t expect “gently”.  He didn’t know that God wants to communicate with us when we’re still... 

How much of your day is spent just being still?   Peaceful?  Quiet?  If you’re like many..not much...and unchecked distraction wins out.  You have to make the intentional decision to get alone with God.   He won’t shout above the noise of your day... He’ll simply wait until you can hear Him.  He doesn’t signal us in shouts or yells or pointed fingers or accusations.  God whispers.  He nudges.  He speaks to us in the quiet spaces of our heart... not with judgment but in love.  We just have to quiet our spirit enough to hear Him.  

Retreat to where the sound isn’t... open up the Word... and listen for the gentlest voice you can hear.  God has something to tell you.

Whispers

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.” 1 Kings 19:11-12

Life is loud.  

During the course of a day you are bound to hear sounds so noisy that you can barely hear yourself think.  Maybe for you it’s the sound of a boss yelling, a teacher correcting the class, or maybe even a child crying for mommy.  For others it’s the scream of regret... or the pounding thump of ridicule.  There is loudness everywhere.  

If we aren’t careful, the noise of the world can drown out the voice of God.  Today’s verse talks about just that... God’s voice wasn’t in the howling windstorm or the booming   earthquake.  Elijah couldn’t even hear it in the roaring fire.  God was communicating with him in a whole new way:  the quiet whisper. 

He still does that today.  God doesn’t raise His voice to communicate with us. He doesn’t signal us in shouts or yells or pointed fingers or accusations.  God whispers.  He nudges.  He speaks to us in the quiet spaces of our heart... not with judgment but in love.  We just have to quiet our spirit enough to hear Him.  

Having trouble connecting with God?   Wondering what He wants you to do with your life?  Retreat to where the sound isn’t... open up the Word... and listen for the gentlest voice you can hear.  God has something to tell you.

Did You Hear?

According to Prevention magazine, our ears continue to grow throughout the course of our lifetime. When we are very young, they are proportional to our body size. After age 10, the growth slows down but continues steadily until we die. So using this logic, we should have better hearing as we get older… larger ears means better sound processing right? Not really. In fact, as we age, our hearing ability actually decreases.

Sad but true.

But there is one aspect of our hearing that should improve as we get older… hearing from God. Why? Because if we’re doing it right when we’re young… we should be getting to know Him more and more! Spending time in His word… hearing messages in His church… writing about Him in our journals… telling others about Him when the opportunity comes… We should be growing closer to Him… and His voice should be getting louder as the shadows grow longer. 2 Corinthians 4 tells us that although we are physically failing over time… we are actually being “renewed day by day” by God. Want to know what God sounds like? Spend time with Him. Pray. Ask Him to tell you and teach you what you need to know. And as the years pass… your ability to hear physically may fade… but your capacity to hear from the One that matters will sharpen.

Quiet Living

Life gets pretty loud.  Alarm clocks ring...kids cry... bosses yell... and our past screams at us from thoughts we wish we could forget.   Things get hectic... and if we’re not careful, we’ll let distraction win.   We are often told how much God wants to say to us... so why is it so hard to hear His voice in the midst of life?

Our question isn’t a new one.  Let’s take a look at the life of Elijah...

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.” 1 Kings 19:11-12

Elijah stood patiently and waited for God to speak.  And as the winds whipped through his hair... he became convinced that a powerful God would chat with him in a rowdy way.  He was wrong.  Then the earthquake came... surely God would communicate as the ground moved.  Wrong again.  After that... fire.  Yes!  Elijah knew the story of Moses’ burning bush... this must be a repeat performance!  God was going to tell him everything he needed to know when the heat was on!   Nothing.  Zip.  God wasn’t talking through the noise at all.  

Instead, He waited.  And then God whispered.   Gently.  Elijah didn’t expect “gently”.  He didn’t know that God wants to communicate with us when we’re still... 

How much of your day is spent just being still?   Peaceful?  Quiet?  If you’re like many..not much...and unchecked distraction wins out.  You have to make the intentional decision to get alone with God.   He won’t shout above the noise of your day... He’ll simply wait until you can hear Him.  He doesn’t signal us in shouts or yells or pointed fingers or accusations.  God whispers.  He nudges.  He speaks to us in the quiet spaces of our heart... not with judgment but in love.  We just have to quiet our spirit enough to hear Him.  

Retreat to where the sound isn’t... open up the Word... and listen for the gentlest voice you can hear.  God has something to tell you.

Hearing What Matters

Grayson Clamp was born deaf. He never heard a sound in his life until June of 2013 when he became the first child in the United States to receive an auditory brain stem implant. The device allows his brain to process sound the way a hearing person’s would. The first thing he heard? His father sitting over his bedside saying “Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you.”

Today as you listen to this devotional... maybe you need to hear the same thing. Your Heavenly Father loves you. He does. He is passionate about you. He steps in for you... protects you... provides for you... reaches out for you... and listens to you when you talk to Him. He never moves from your side and always has His loving arm around you when you get scared.

Don’t allow the world to cover your ears. Some people will discourage you and convince you that you are alone. They will make you feel unloved and remind you that you have made mistakes. They’ll try to distract you from God’s gentle whispers with silent betrayal and painful criticism. Don’t let them. Take some time today... close your eyes... and let God tell you again and again...

You are mine.
I’m right here.
Daddy loves you.