Guest Post: Hearing God’s Voice
Hearing God’s Voice
by Roxanne Knott of Grace Filled Waiting
www.GraceFilledWaiting.com
When we are in the midst of the chaos of life and infertility issues it can be very difficult to hear God’s voice clearly and discern His wisdom for our situations. A lot of times the voices that scream loudest are the voices of the pain, disappointment, frustration, fear, anger, grief, anxiety and heartache. Maybe even the voices of friends or family who are trying to tell you it will be ok or maybe even the not so supportive ones who are telling you now is the time to give up. Not to mention the voice of the enemy that comes in and fills your thoughts with all the negativity, doubt and hopelessness.
So in the midst of the chaos, pain and disappointment, how do we differentiate God’s voice from everything else so that we can receive the guidance, direction and wisdom that we need?
Be open.
You have to be in a place that you are really ready to hear whatever the Lord speaks to you. Sometimes the Lord speaks things that we don’t necessarily want to hear right then. You might not be in the frame of mind to receive right then. It’s ok. Give yourself some grace to experience the emotions that are swirling in you at the moment. Then when you are ready, go to God and allow Him to speak and minister to you.
Sometimes we aren’t ready to give God a chance to talk. Our minds are made up, our hearts are hardened and hurting and we are unwilling to listen.
I know for me that when we came through our failed IVF, I wasn’t immediately ready to hear what God may have wanted to say. I didn’t want to hear anything from anyone, least of all God who I was mad at anyway. It took some time for me to come to the place where I was ready to listen and receive from the Lord again.
Then when you are ready, be open to whatever way the Lord chooses to speak to you, and His word for you. He can choose many ways to speak to you.
He can speak through someone else, a book, a sermon or through our personal experiences. The answer may come at the most unexpected time or an unexpected way.
I have had God just all of a sudden drop something into my heart as I was driving, not even thinking about or praying about the specific situation.
We discern His voice in Prayer – Psalm 62:5-6 “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.”
In the midst of infertility or other trials and chaotic moments of our lives, it can be easy to have God’s voice get drowned out by the screaming voices of fear, doubt, disappointment, anger and guilt. We have to be purposeful in our pursuit to hear God’s voice to receive the grace, wisdom and guidance that we need.
“Listening is not something that just happens, (that is hearing), listening is an active process in which a conscious decision is made to listen to and understand the message of the speaker. Listening takes time and patience.” (Rick Warren)
When you want God to speak to you, you need to be quiet so He can.
In the world we live in today it can be hard to carve out time to sit and be quiet before the Lord. However, it is imperative that we do that to receive God’s wisdom for our lives. Even just 5 minutes of sitting down, calming your mind, turning off your cell phone, removing all other distractions and actively listening for God’s voice can bring you peace.
Allow God’s voice to cut through the choas inside our souls and make His will and His purposes for you very clear. Allow Him to speak healing to you.
Luke 5:16 says – “Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” He set the example for us. There were many times when Jesus had to leave the crowds and get to a quiet place so He could commune with the Father. If Jesus himself needed to do that, then why do we think we don’t need to?
Get the Lord’s perspective and revelation. – James 1:5 – “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”
Sometimes we just need to see our situation from a different perspective. Once we are able to see it from God’s perspective we can let go of the frustration and trust that He has our best in mind and that He will get us to where we need to be. He does have a plan and purpose for your life, even your infertility journey. It may be hard to discern today, but ask Him for revelation and He will speak to you and give you even just a glimpse of your purpose that will dispel the other voices and bring you back to a place of peace and joy. Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
We can discern His voice in the chaos by drawing on previous experiences and knowledge.
Trust God for the here and now. Remind yourself of what God has done for you in the past and realize that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. So if He delivered you in the past, He will do it again today…if He spoke to you in the past, He will do it again today.
The Israelites often built memorials to the Lord as a reminder to them and future generations of God’s faithfulness. Take a minute to look at Joshua 4:1-7.
Doing this will help you to bring the negative thoughts captive and allow God’s truth to set you free from the chaos at hand. Whether that be bombarding negative thoughts, out of control emotions from infertility, marriage conflict…it doesn’t matter. When you start remembering and thanking God for what He has done for you, you can’t help but worship Him and when you do that your mind is renewed and shifted. This is when God can speak to you and bring healing, peace and joy back to you.
In closing, Psalm 62:5-6 says – “Let all that I am wait quietly before God,for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.”
I pray today that as you wait quietly before Him, His hope will arise anew in your heart and that you will be able to hear God’s voice above the chaos of current circumstances and that you will not be shaken.
– Roxanne