In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 1:1-3.

“Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the [Holy] Spirit without limit. The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands.”–John 3:33-35

 Hidden Moments

The world knows how to seek worldly treasure.
Get the job that gets the spouse, then the kids.
However, lusting for an earthly treasure
Is not the Godly way to live.
Why do we run ourselves in circles
Always chasing after something new?
When the wisdom of eternity is ours 
In the hidden moments, we share with you.

Who I am is a source of confusion.
Is what I know of myself really true?
If I can’t even make sense of this self
How can I become someone new?
In this world fraught with tribulation
We’re unsure of things we thought we knew.
Still, we’re grateful we can find the answers, Lord,
In the hidden moments, we share with you.

Lord, I mean no disrespect by asking,
Did you anticipate man’s appetite to kill?
Were pain and misery always part of your plan?
Or what did you expect from free will?
Lord, it’s so hard to understand your plan.  
But then, it’s not ours to know what you do.
We will learn our part of your plan  
In the hidden moments, we share with you.

We all have a part in your eternal plan. 
And each part is essential to the whole.
But that’s not to say all parts are equal
But it’s all needed for the plan to unfold.
Lord, we hunger for the coming of your kingdom
As we look forward to our rendezvous. 
We can only find the courage to be patient,
In the hidden moments, we share with you. 
Linda Troxell © 04/05/20

Hearing God’s Voice

 Most of us, if not all, hear a constant stream of conversation in our heads throughout the day. A voice that narrates our movements, reacts and discusses what we read or hear on television and the internet, and comments, agrees with or mocks the words and behaviors of others. This voice poses questions about many topics and then answers the questions as well. For a long time, I thought the voice was exclusively my own. After all, it sounded like my voice; or what I thought my voice sounded like. I believed the advice I received, the arguments about that advice, and the discussions about the pros and cons of following the advice, came only from me. 

But now I understand the Holy Spirit is God living inside me. He is the helper Jesus promised before He ascended to the Father. And He speaks to us through our thoughts in the same voice that narrates everything in our head–our voice. He encourages us to do the right thing and is there to help us make choices and take actions that will change the world. Of course, we must allow the Holy Spirit to change us before we can change the world. I was relieved by this information. Knowing His voice in my head sounds like my own voice helped me relax and let go of the fear about my salvation. Still, I needed help to discern when or if the voice I heard was the Holy Spirit speaking to me or only my own voice.

You probably know someone, or even more than one person, who hears the voice of the Holy Spirit often, clearly, and without a doubt. Have you coveted their ability, asking God why they find it easy to hear His voice while you struggle? I will admit that I often coveted the ability of others to hear God’s voice clearly, even knowing it was a sin. And when trying to sort out the voices I heard, I sometimes asked God, “Is it me, is it you, or is it the enemy?” He never answered. Or perhaps He did, and I assumed it was my voice answering the question. I experienced a lot of guilt, even shame, about these issues. Shame for not being able to identify the voice of the Lord, and guilt that I was jealous and coveting my neighbor’s gift.  

You may have had similar struggles, including shame or guilt, about your jealousy of someone else’s ability to hear the Lord’s voice. Or perhaps you felt that your unworthiness explained why you couldn’t hear God’s voice. If that is the case, let me put your hurting, shame-filled heart to rest; it is doubtful that anyone is given the fully formed gift of recognizing God’s voice all the time. Perhaps a few have that ability as their spiritual gift, but I think they are the anomalies. It’s certainly possible that some others don’t struggle so much because they always expected to hear God’s voice, so when it happened, they never questioned it. But chances are, most of us have to go through a process of learning to identify the voice of the Holy Spirit.

In the beginning, in the garden, Adam and Eve had no problem hearing God’s voice or having a dialogue with Him. There is controversy about whether they saw God or only heard His voice and felt His presence. Still, either way, they could easily hear His voice and converse with Him. I believe God equipped the first humans, and by extension, all of us, to hear His voice, speak with Him, and feel His presence. Of course, they had fewer distractions in the garden than we have today. No phones or social media, and no internet. And there were not many other voices to sort out as an obstacle to hearing God. Then sin entered the garden, and Satan’s voice competed with God’s for our attention.

The father of sin and lies has distorted many of the gifts God has given us, and recognizing God’s voice is one of those. Since first bringing corruption to the garden, the enemy has interfered with our ability to hear God’s voice as part of his strategy to make us question God’s commands, intentions, and goodness. So even though we are all still equipped to hear the voice of our Lord, Satan’s deliberate interference, his overall corruption of this world, and the steady increase in the many voices we hear in our daily lives has caused this God-given ability meant to be a gift, to feel more like a difficult chore.

Our first parents had an easy relationship with God because speaking to Him and hearing His voice was easy. Still, now, thanks to our wiley enemy, hearing God’s voice is something we must learn and practice. I confess that in all that time when I was feeling inadequate, guilty, and confused about not hearing God’s voice, I never once considered that there might be a deliberate campaign to keep me from hearing Him. Elusiveness is another natural talent of our enemy; somehow, we always blame ourselves, or someone else, before we even consider a spiritual attack.  

But Jesus was perfectly aware there would be roadblocks, sabotage, and attacks to hamper our attempts to live a holy and righteous life. He knew our sinful nature and the pull of the material world would hinder our resistance to sin and fleshly pleasures, which pull us away from Him and the Father. So when He had to go, He promised to send us a partner who would shine a light on the requirements for living a Spirit-filled life, help us make the hard decisions, and point us toward truth. 

In the book of Acts, we see the Holy Spirit come upon Jesus’ followers in a spectacular manner. With tongues of fire, rushing wind, and a sudden ability to speak in foreign languages, it’s safe to assume they had no doubt that the Holy Spirit had moved in as Jesus had promised. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:2-4.

But, for most of us today, the coming of the Holy Spirit in our lives is much less spectacular. Many of us, including me, know the Spirit has moved in only because Jesus promised He would. It makes me wonder if I’m the only one for whom that promise created a spiritual dilemma. A  paralyzing predicament in which I knew questioning the Word of God was blasphemous. Still, I had no indication that the Holy Spirit was living in me. My way of resolving that problem was to periodically question the validity of my salvation. 

But God is a light giver. Before He created the world, the earth was dark, formless, and undifferentiated. But when God called for light, it brought clarity, enabling Him to create a world that would support human life. There is no other planet in our galaxy, probably in the entire universe, capable of that. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 1:1-3.

Bringing light to the world was no more critical to our survival than was giving us the Holy Spirit to shine the light of God’s truth in our hearts and souls. God gave us the Holy Spirit, so we have someone to turn to for advice and support. But more than that, He put the Spirit inside us as a light giver. The Holy Spirit shines a light that clarifies the state of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. We need this clarity to assess whether or not we are living a life in which we demonstrate our love for Jesus. Jesus told us following His commands and obeying His teachings would show our love for Him. “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever. –John 14:15-16. God knew we would need someone to periodically show us how well we are meeting that goal.

Jesus relied on the Holy Spirit throughout His ministry. Because He chose not to use His divinity on earth, He lived His life and fulfilled His purpose through His dependence on the Holy Spirit. “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”-Philippians 2:6-8.

The Holy Spirit was with Jesus at the beginning of His ministry; He descended on Jesus like a dove when Jesus was baptized. And the Holy Spirit also thrust Jesus into the desert to be tested after His baptism. As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where He was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him.- Mark 1:10-13.  

And it was through the Holy Spirit that He accomplished His miracles.“Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the [Holy] Spirit without limit. The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands.”–John 3:33-35. 

The Holy Spirit has no agenda of His own. He is wholly committed to helping us live out the Father’s agenda. Just as the Holy Spirit enabled Jesus to carry out God’s plan for the world, He guides us to live out God’s plan for each of us. Jesus told us that as we learn to hear His voice, He will help us to understand spiritual truth, teach us new things, and relay messages from Jesus into our hearts. 

So how do we learn to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit? It’s really very simple when we understand a few fundamental truths. First, we must realize that God wants to have a relationship with us. And He knows that building a meaningful relationship requires dialogue and that dialogue requires us to have the ability to hear His voice. To accommodate that, God equipped all His children to hear His voice. However, like so many gifts God has given humans, with the enemy’s help, we have complicated this gift beyond recognition.

Next, we must understand that because the Holy Spirit has no agenda of His own, He lives in us only to help us know God and carry out His plan. So, the voice of the Holy Spirit is the voice of God. And finally, we need to know God’s character. For this, we must read the Bible. There are many essential reasons to spend time in God’s word daily; it has power in and of itself. But for our purposes, we are searching the Bible to know God’s character. It will be the only way to discern God’s voice from our own and the enemy’s. 

So, if you aren’t already, start reading the Bible daily. What you read is less important than that you read something. There are many ways to decide what to read; for example, plans for reading the Bible and plans in which we write one or more scriptures daily. Either will help to keep you in God’s word. But always pray for God to guide you before ever opening the Bible. 

If you are at the beginning of learning God’s character, you can start with the Concordance of your Bible under God. Warning, in my Bible, the Concordance has 5 pages about God. You might be better off Googling God’s Character or Who is God. However, because God’s character is displayed throughout the entire Bible, to really know Him, we must become familiar with the Old and the New Testaments. As you earnestly pursue knowing God, He will help you by giving you ideas about where to find Him. After all, He wants to be known, and He is God; He can put thoughts directly into our minds.  

From there, we must practice being still and clearing our minds. It is challenging, but dialogue with God requires allowing time for Him to speak. This can only happen if our minds are clear. This is not to say that God does not talk to our busy minds. Remember, He inserts His voice into the ongoing chatter in our heads. This technique, however, is to practice hearing God’s voice when conversing with Him or seeking an answer to a particular question. It will also help us learn to recognize His voice in our busy minds. 

This is how I do it. After I complete my daily prayer, I tell God I will be still and listen for His voice. And I ask Him to speak to me and help me understand His message. Then I set a timer for 6 minutes, relax, and attempt to clear my mind as I listen for His voice. It is challenging at first. Our minds are not used to being empty, so they will wander. When that happens, we need only bring our minds back to our purpose. Don’t worry; we have the rest of our lives to learn this. As we practice patience and discipline our minds, there will be less and less wandering. Then, once we know God’s voice, we will find that His voice will interrupt any wandering.

You may be wondering why 6 minutes. I chose six minutes because, for me, it seemed a tolerable amount of time to be still and practice. But the amount of time doesn’t matter. You can use whatever amount of time is comfortable and adjust it if necessary. Just be mindful that there must be enough time to learn and succeed. Once you begin to converse with God, the time will no longer matter.

This is where the importance of knowing God’s Character comes in. When we sit relaxed and with a clear mind, it’s not only an invitation for God to speak; it’s an unintended invitation for the enemy to speak. Remember, our enemy is clever, cunning, and wiley; he has no aversion to impersonating God. But he has none of God’s characteristics and cannot speak from a place of love.

We can only identify God’s voice if we know Him well enough to test what we hear against His character. God will never speak in a way not in keeping with His character or a way that contradicts what it says in the Bible. You can see why it’s essential, then to be familiar with God’s word. If we know God, we can determine what He might say against what the enemy could never say. 

To live a Spirit-filled life, we must seek God through the Holy Spirit daily. Connecting with God first thing in the morning sets a beautiful tone for the whole day. But I know it can be impossible in the morning, amid the chaos of getting everyone out the door, to find the time needed to sit down with God’s Word to connect with Him. But there is a way that we can join with God in just a few minutes. I like to do this before I even get out of bed—don’t read this to say I always do it before getting out of bed—. Simply say a short prayer inviting the Holy Spirit into your space and asking Him for two things for this day: to know if you are seeking His advice and counsel in every part of your life and if you are overlooking or have been inattentive to anything God asks of you.  

To be disciples of Jesus, we must make God a part of every aspect of our lives, that which we consider trivial, as well as that which we consider crucial. It isn’t ours to decide which is which; only God’s beliefs count. And as followers of Jesus, we need to look to the Father for what He wants us to do to help change the world. As we become more able to hear God’s voice among the chatter, we will begin to see the world through His eyes and better know who and where we need to help. But that will never replace asking God to show us what we can do or do better to further His plan. 

Well, there it is; everything I know about learning and practicing to hear the voice of God through the Holy Spirit. I hope it was helpful.

Let’s pray.

Father, we are so grateful that You sent the Holy Spirit to us so we can connect with You and know what You want of us. It is a challenge in this broken world to hear your voice and feel your presence. But then You knew it would be, so You sent us Your Spirit. We praise Your grace for this and for the many ways we receive Your grace. But Lord, we especially praise the grace You give that we don’t recognize. It is overwhelming sometimes to understand how important we are to You. That’s why we sometimes don’t pay a lot of attention to our thoughts and behaviors that are hurtful to You. Please forgive us our trespasses, Lord, and help us do better. Of course, we know You cannot help us to change our behaviors unless we allow You to change us. You can only reach us if we are open to hearing Your voice. That’s why we are seeking ways in which to do that. Lord, please give us favor in that pursuit, and remind us when we fall short. Lord, we love You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we want to please You, always. We pray that we can improve as we learn to hear Your voice. This we pray in the holy name of the Son, Amen!