Start Your New Life Today (6 page)
Enjoy where you are at on the way to where you are going.
Do You Have Selective Hearing?
R
ecently God told me that when we are
unwilling
to hear in one area, it may render us
unable
to hear in other areas. Sometimes we choose to turn a deaf ear to what we know the Lord is clearly saying to us. We only hear what we want to hear, which is called “selective hearing.” After a while, people think they can’t hear from God anymore but really, there are many things they already know He wants them to respond to, but they haven’t done so. I have learned that the more quickly I do whatever it is the Lord tells me to do, the more quickly He reveals the next step I am to take.
A woman once shared with me that she asked God to give her direction concerning what He wanted her to do. He clearly put in her heart that He wanted her to forgive her sister for an offense that happened between them months before. Because she wasn’t willing to forgive, she pulled away from her prayer time. When she did seek the Lord again for something, He always responded, “Forgive your sister first.”
Over a period of
two years
, every time she asked the Lord for guidance in something new, He gently reminded her, “I want you to forgive your sister.” Finally, she realized she would never grow spiritually if she didn’t do the last thing God told her to do.
She got on her knees and prayed, “Lord, give me the power to forgive my sister.” Instantly she understood many things from her sibling’s perspective she hadn’t considered before and within a short time their relationship was healed and stronger than ever before.
If we really want to hear from God, we can’t approach Him with selective hearing hoping to narrow the topics to only what we want to hear. People take time to listen for His voice when they have issues
they
want solved. If they have a problem, or have concerns about their job, or need wisdom on how to have more prosperity, or need to deal with a child, they are all ears to hear what God has to say.
Don’t just go to God and talk to Him when you want or need something; also spend time with Him—just listening. He will open up many issues if you will be still before Him and simply listen. As we study God’s Word, we are confronted with many things that will need to change in our lives in order for us to be what God desires us to be. If we are willing, God will do the work; but if we make excuses and have selective hearing, we will remain in bondage and darkness and hearing from God will become more and more difficult.
For many people, listening is an ability only developed by practice. I have always been a talker; I never had to try to talk. But I have had to learn to listen on purpose. The Bible says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10
NIV
). Our flesh is full of energy and usually wants to be active doing something, so it can be difficult to be still.
As I said, talking has always been easy for me. I told my husband one day we needed to talk more. It seemed to me he never wanted to spend time just sitting and talking. He responded by saying, “Joyce,
we
don’t talk, you talk and I listen.” He was right and I needed to change if I expected him to want to fellowship with me. I also discovered I was doing the same thing with God; I talked and expected God to listen. I complained that I never heard from God, but the truth was I never listened.
When you ask God a question, take some time and listen. Even if He does not respond right at that moment, He will in due time. You may be doing some ordinary task when God decides to speak, but if you have honored Him by listening as part of your fellowship with Him, He will speak at the right time.
Please don’t fall into a trap of listening for voices. Remember that God speaks in a variety of ways, and His most usual ways are through His Word and the inward witness which often manifests as a strong “knowing.” He may also work through circumstances or some other very normal things. I wrote a book titled
How to Hear from God,
and I suggest it for anyone who really wants to learn more about this important subject.
You may be doing some ordinary task when God decides to speak, but if you have honored Him by listening as part of your fellowship with Him, He will speak at the right time.
Let the Holy Spirit Defend You
M
ost of us spend a great deal of time and energy in life trying to defend ourselves, our reputation, our position, our actions, our words, and our decisions. We are truly wasting a great deal of our time. When people are judgmental in nature or character and are judgmental toward us, we may finally after much effort convince them of our purity of heart. But with a judgmental nature, they will quickly find something else about us to judge. In these types of situations, it is best to pray and let God be our defense.
This gives us much to think about. The Holy Spirit as Comforter to us is called to our side to give us aid in every way. When we need defense, He acts as a legal assistant would for a client, a counsel for our defense to plead our case, an intercessor for us. It is good to know we don’t have to defend ourselves when we are accused of something; we can ask for help from the Holy One and expect to receive it. He is our Advocate. Just thinking about that should bring us comfort.
We notice in the Holy Scriptures that Jesus basically never defended Himself. Philippians 2:7 (
KJV
) says He “made himself of no reputation.” He didn’t try to make one, and therefore He did not have to worry about keeping it.
We don’t have to defend ourselves when we are accused of something; we can ask for help from the Holy One and expect to receive it.
After years of trying to be well thought of, I discovered that it is much better to have a good reputation in heaven than on earth. I want to have a good reputation with people, and hopefully, I live my life in such a way that I do. But I don’t worry about it anymore. I do my best and let God take care of the rest.
Romans 8:33 tells us it is God who justifies us; we don’t have to justify ourselves, not even to God the Father. Why should we then have to try to justify ourselves before people? We don’t have to when we understand the Holy Spirit is our Advocate.
Not needing to defend ourselves, but instead trusting God to be our Vindicator, is just one of many privileges and freedoms that are ours as we enter into a new life lived with Jesus as our Savior. Once we receive Him we begin an exciting journey. Sometimes the journey is difficult, but our most difficult day with Jesus will be far better than our best day ever was without Him. Make a decision to enjoy your journey. As you walk with God you will learn, and as you apply what you learn you will experience more and more freedom and joy.
Some of the things that are yours in Christ are peace, righteousness, joy, strength, hope, love, power, wisdom, prudence (good management), provision to meet your needs, heaven, and many other things too numerous to mention. Expect great things in life because we serve a great God! Listen and obey each step of the way and you will surely enjoy a life worth living.
Listen for God’s Still, Small Voice
S
omeone once told me of a one-act play with three characters—a father, a mother, and a son who had just returned from Viet Nam—sitting at a table talking. The play lasts thirty minutes, and they all get their chance to talk. There’s only one problem: no one listens to the others.
The father is about to lose his job. The mother who once held just about every office in their church is now being pushed aside by younger women. The son struggles with his faith. He had gone to war, saw chaos and death, and is now bewildered about life.
At the end of the play, the son stands and heads toward the door. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said” is his parting remark, as he walks out of the room. The parents look at each other, and the mother asks, “What did he mean?”
What the parents didn’t get—and the audience obviously did—is that the son struggled to believe in a loving, caring God. Every time he tried to explain, one of the parents interrupted with something the parent wanted to say. The soldier needed to hear from God. Hoping his mother or father would be the channel through which God would speak, he went to them. However, they were not available for God’s use because they were not quiet enough to hear Him. All three of them were so distraught and noisy; they all left the same way they came. What might have happened had they really listened to one another then quietly prayed and waited on God? I am sure the outcome would have been very different and much more rewarding.
In 1 Kings 19, we read of the deeply committed prophet Elijah, who defied the wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel for years. The big moment came on Mount Carmel when Elijah destroyed 450 prophets of Baal. Later, when Queen Jezebel threatened to kill him, he ran away, apparently in terror.
Elijah went into a cave to hide out. He must have been worn out by the powerful events. Suddenly the man was alone, with no crowds, no one trying to kill him, and no one to talk to. When God asked him what he was doing there, Elijah spoke of his zeal for Him. Then he told God the children of Israel had gone astray, killing prophets, “And I, I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (v. 10). God told Elijah, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord” (v. 11).
God brought strong winds, falling rocks, an earthquake, and fire. I think that was the way Elijah expected God to appear—in the miraculous and powerful. But the writer tells us God wasn’t in those things. “And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice (vv. 11–12).
As long as Elijah sought the dramatic, he didn’t hear God. But when he pulled back and listened for the inner voice, the soft, non-demanding voice of the Holy Spirit, Elijah could communicate with God.
What kind of voice are you expecting to hear from God? Will you recognize the still, small voice when you hear it? Do you take time to be quiet and just listen? Ask Him to help you listen most of all in the soft stillness for the quiet ways in which He speaks.
Do you take time to be quiet and just listen?
My New Start
O
n a Friday morning in February 1976, I was driving to work and feeling discouraged. My husband and I had an argument before I left for work—something that happened quite often. I was quite disheartened because little in my life seemed to be working. Although I was making every effort to be what I thought was a good Christian by attending church and following their rules, none of it seemed to be working. I was not experiencing the peace and joy promised in the Scriptures.
Dave was an elder at our church, and I was the first and only woman at that time to serve on the church board. Helping make decisions in the church was extremely frustrating because of all the bureaucracy. Often it took several meetings just to decide a small, almost insignificant matter. The church was filled with people vying for positions, and I saw very little real love.
Dave and I were both on the Evangelism Team, who one night a week went door-to-door telling others about Jesus. Our life revolved around the church. Our children went to school there. We joined all the right social clubs and sports teams and attended all the church dinners. We thought we had good friends, but I was soon to discover otherwise.
I felt I needed change in my life, but I didn’t know exactly what I needed. I was searching, but I didn’t know what I was searching for. Out of sheer frustration and desperation that morning in the car, I cried out to God. I told Him I felt I couldn’t go on any longer with the way things were. I remember saying, “God, something is missing. I don’t know what it is, but something is missing.”
I was so spiritually hungry I was ready to receive anything as long as I knew it was from God. I was like a starving person. People can be hungry but still picky about what they eat; however, if they get hungry enough, they will eat whatever is put before them. Because of my great spiritual hunger, I was totally open to God at that point in my life.
To my surprise I heard the audible voice of God that morning in my car. He called my name and spoke to me about patience. From that moment, my heart filled with faith and I knew with certainty God was going to do something about my situation. I didn’t know what He would do or when, but I knew He was about to move in my life.
On Fridays after work, I had my hair done. Friday evenings, Dave and I always went bowling as part of a league. On that Friday late afternoon, I drove home from the beauty shop, turning off Highway 270 onto the Gravois exit to go to Fenton, the St. Louis suburb where we lived. As I sat in the car at a red light, I felt my heart fill with faith about what God was going to do. Even though I had no idea what it would be, I began to thank Him for it.
At that very moment, Jesus filled me with the presence of the Holy Spirit in a way that I had never before experienced. I didn’t know what was taking place, but I certainly knew God manifested Himself in a different and powerful way. The best way I can describe my feeling at that moment is to say it was as if someone poured me full of liquid love. The experience affected my behavior. I was peaceful, happy, excited, and easy to get along with. I felt as if I loved everything and everyone.
I remember driving past a field of weeds and thinking how beautiful they were, simply because I knew God made them. Everything God had anything to do with looked beautiful to me. People I hadn’t wanted to be around before suddenly seemed pleasant and likeable to me. I was actually the one who was different, but when we change, everyone and everything else seems to us to have changed. After that experience with God, my behavior changed to the extent that people began asking me what happened. All I knew to tell them was that God was wonderful. My new enthusiasm seemed to start rubbing off on others, and before long I was teaching a Bible study at work.