June 19, 2024

It was a hard learning process for me to hear God’s voice, and sometimes I still have trouble with it. I often wondered why it had to be so cryptic sometimes, couldn’t He just communicate more easily by giving the answer on a silver platter?  It could sometimes feel like a treasure hunt, one big mystery. And often I felt like I was wasting a lot of time trying to figure out what God actually wanted to say to me, or what direction He wanted me to go. Fortunately, things are getting better now, but that took time. I once heard a sermon in which it was explained that you only learn to recognize someone’s voice naturally when you actually know the person. In a crowded room, you can immediately recognize the voice of your partner, who you have been with for years, among all those different voices. I thought it was a nice comparison. It is the same with recognizing God’s voice. All kinds of voices can talk to you throughout the day; from your partner, your children, your parents, your colleagues or the stranger at the checkout. But it is an art to pick out God’s voice among all those voices throughout the day. We only learn this by spending a lot of time with Him. Looking for silence helps with this, because the noise of everyday life obscures His voice. /*! elementor – v3.22.0 – 16-06-2024 */ .elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px} Custom care relationship God does not shout; He always speaks in a soft and loving tone.  So, learning to hear His small voice among all the sounds of a screaming world, took me some time. I have discovered that God speaks to us in all kinds of ways, and it does not have to be the same for everyone. I often compare it with how I speak to my children. Likewise, I also approach my eldest son differently than my youngest son. The band is a bit different; my eldest is all grown up, and the youngest is still a fun teenager who doesn’t take life too seriously yet . The fact that my youngest and I are very similar doesn’t help eithter. Quite often, it causes us to clash. My eldest son finds it quite amusing to watch as my youngest son and I are engaged in a veritable “well-or-better battle”, in which the Holy Spirit always has to remind me to be quick to listen, but slow to speak, LOL (James 1 :19). But anyway, that’s besides the point 😉 Anyway, this means that I approach each one in a different way. Logical, actually. My dear friend recently said very beautifully: God has a different relationship with everyone; you can see it as a  “customized care relationship”. And this is so true. God approaches each of us differently, so it can sometimes be challenging, but when you think about it, it is beautiful! Because therefor, we don’t have to ask our friends, our pastor, or our mom what God wants us to hear. Through this, God teaches us to build our own relationship with Him so that we also learn to recognize His voice. Every relationship takes time to build. You have to get to know and trust each other. We may also take the time to learn to hear God’s voice. Pray like Gideon I have been walking close to God for about 4 and a half years now, and I can say that it has taken me that time to really learn to understand Him well, and of course, sometimes I still have doubts. When I continue to have doubts about a certain situation, I sometimes ask God for clear signs, and then I ask, “Okay, Lord, I really don’t know what You expect from me. Will You give me a lot of peace if I have to take this step, or will You give me a lot of anxiety when I shouldn’t do it?”  I can tell you, He has answered immediately every time I asked. I love how you experience a supernatural peace or a very strange, persistent unrest. One of the other ways that I sometimes use when I don’t know what God wants to tell me is to ask for a sign. My friend and I always call this “the Gideon prayer” LOL.          Pray like Gideon. Gideon asked for a sign from God several times in Judges 6, and God answered him, (Judges 6:36-40). Our Father wants to talk to us and give us advice when we’re stuck, so keep asking for help. That does not tire Him.  “Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised 37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.”  Judges 6 36-40 No worries Take the time to build your relationship with Him. Seek the silence of His presence and begin to recognize the ways He speaks to you personally. Search the Word for it will always line up with His Word.  Are you currently running into something and just don’t know what to do? Keep asking, He is your Heavenly Father and wants to answer you in everything, even the seemingly minuscule things. You can ask Him for peace or restlessness, or try a prayer like Gideon. No worries, He