ON: Hearing the voice of God.

During the past week I was seeking Gods face, restoration of relationship and forgiveness for falling into sin from the temptation that pestered me. I had decided to walk with God as I like to do, to seek the intimacy of his touch, and ask for his mercy and grace to restore and redeem our relationship. This is part of what in his Grace he revealed to me.

I was walking early the morning, I could hear many sounds like traffic and various birds. I felt like this was a lesson from the Father. 

Traffic could be likened to the busyness of life, there consistently.  I heard Hadeada' s loud, they are perhaps like distractions to keep our attention off the thing's God wants us to do. Then there was the familiar sounds of Guinefowl, alluring and strangely exotic, comforting and desirable, but were they like the voice of God? 

I felt that I had to listen beyond that to hear and discern Gods voice, to hear and see the Kingdom of God.  

The small chirp of unknown birds calling to worship and praise God.  To even hear the gentle breeze and feel it's impact on my skin. To follow the gentle prompting of Jesus as he leads, we follow. This is for me a prophetic preparation for today, tomorrow and future. To discern God and intentionally choose to hear and follow him.

God is always so faithful and much of what I experienced with him, he graciously confirmed in a book I am reading (after the event I happened to read the particular chapter. The book is The Return of The Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen. It was like we were on the same page and I want to highlight a few things taken from both the book and the experience. 

What are the other voices or sounds we hear and more than often listen to and follow? These are too often the loudest in our lives we have heard them over and over throughout, do you recognise them? They come to us via our parents, teachers, friends or mass media.  "Do you measure up? Are you a good boy? Who are your connections? Better build and earn trophies, houses, jobs, cars etc to prove your worth! Have you done enough or worked hard enough to be loved and accepted? "

It nauseated me to think how quickly we fall into these traps, from making God my magnificent obsession, to falling for a moment of earthly pleasure. How and why are we so easily beguiled? This sounds a bit like the Guinefowl now doesn't it?

I felt that God showed me that it's linked back to the sin in the garden.  We still believe the lie Satan had sold us, did God really say? If you partake of this tree of knowledge, you will be like God and find satisfaction on your own apart from him. Wow so alluring and exotic, I know what I want and need and how to give it to myself.  So addictive and sadly deceiving, the more we chase these things, the more we need them. When we fail to achieve we then pretend and put on masks, so that people won't know how much you have failed.

Henri likened it to leaving home, moving away from the Father who loved us, and in a sence saying I wish you were dead, I want my way, then the voices come and beguil us to live a life of performance based and conditional love, if you succeeded you will be loved and accepted (conditions apply). Henri stated it like this " as long as we live in the world's delusions, our additictions condemned us to futile quests in a distant land" away from Home and the Father.

What is the Father's response to this? Jesus, that is his response. The plan and purpose of God was to send his Son, to bear our own sin, shame and death, that we might live. As in the garden Adam and the prodigal son (us) rejected his Love, rule and reign. Jesus came to restore and redeem relationship with God, to turn the tables on us doing our own thing and submitting to Gods perfect wisdom, knowledge and plan.  He has declared us as his beloved, even before we do anything to deserve the honour, we are Sons, whom he loves and is well pleased. He has always loved us and is good, just and fair. He knows what is good for us and what we really need. 

In our busyness (traffic) of life we too often, even as Christians find ourselves not listening and particularly obeying (Shema) and is a dangerous play ground where the enemy can take full advantage in our lives and bring destruction through these voices or noise, take time to intentionally make a habit of discerning Gods voice.

Henri says it beautifully " When I hear that voice (of God, the Father), I know that I am home with God and have nothing to fear. As the beloved of my heavenly Father I can walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear. As the beloved I can cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Having received without charge, I can give without charge. As the beloved I can confront, console, admonish and encourage without fear of rejection or need for affirmation. As the beloved I can suffer persecution without desire for revenge and recieve praise without using it as proof of my goodness. As the beloved, I can be tortured or killed without having to ever doubt that the love that is given to me is stronger than death. As the beloved I am free to live and give life, free also to die while giving life" Henri Nouwen.

If this is not a great motivation to know your God given identity, then nothing will be..