May 8 - Respecting the Voice of God
If we respect a person, we listen to what he or she has to say. The voice of a person is the extension of the person. To respect God, we must also heed His voice, listen to Him and obey what you have heard from Him. The voice of God did not only created the heavens and the earth, He also called His people Israel to Himself through choosing their father Abraham. Using His voice through the prophets, He continued to guide His people. Without His voice, people then went after other gods. The key to our lives is to constantly hear the voice of God and live – very simple!
The emergence of Samuel had a lot to do with the voice of God. This voice does not go to those who refuse to listen. Eli could not hear the voice of God because of his sins. God had to send another prophet to speak to him, to point out his sins and the sins of his sons. Eli honored his sons more than he honored God. His sons despised God by scorning the sacrifices of God. God declared, “Those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” Our sins can keep us away from God and His voice.
God was to raise up for Himself a faithful priest, who would do according to God’s will. This priest was Samuel who began to hear God’s voice and know God’s heart and mind. Again, Eli could not hear God’s voice and had to ask a little child about what the Lord had said concerning him. In those days, due to the rebellion of the priesthood, the Word of the Lord was rare and there was no frequent vision. God can speak to us in voice or vision but if you are like old Eli, you would not be able to see or hear. This is what revelation is all about, God revealing something to us through word or vision.
God called Samuel with His voice. When he heard God’s voice, his own words to the people would not go to the wayside but would be fulfilled. This was God’s way of affirming His servants. We cannot serve God without hearing His voice. Even Jesus had to hear God’s voice when He judged. Hearing God was the way for Jesus to know God’s will. The people around Him had not heard God’s voice and so they did not believe in Jesus. Jesus became God’s voice to them, calling them out of death into eternal life. The bible is the Word of God and bears witness to Jesus, we can also hear God’s voice through the Word.
Do you hear the voice of God daily? He speaks to you in your spirit, using intuitions or impressions that are not usually part of your thinking or imagination. He may speak to you in pictures or visions or even in dreams. Your spiritual hearing needs to be exercised or you would become spiritually deaf and blind like old Eli, operating out of God’s presence and power. Spend time to listen to God now!
Ps 67:1-7 1 Sam 2:22_4:22 John 5:24-47 Prov 14:30-31